Exosporium Proteins and the Fine Structure of the Bacterial Endospore Surface

Bacillus cereus is a food pathogen, and its spores are food contaminants. The outer spore surface, or exosporium, layer of B. cereus confers adhesion properties and antigenicity. <P>
The paracrystaline protein array of the exosporium will be defined at high resolution in both wild type and selected mutants by electron cryomicroscopy. The location and role of recently identified novel proteins of exosporium (including their assembly) will be determined by gene inactivation, Western blotting, and antibody labelling. <P>An understanding of the exosporium will inform studies of spore surface properties of B. cereus, and also B. thuringiensis, B. anthracis and, in general, the many other spore formers, including Clostridia, that have an exosporium.