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Relation between radiation resistance and salt sensitivity of spores of five strains of Clostridium botulinum types A, B, and E

Journal Article · · Appl. Environ. Microbiol.; (United States)
OSTI ID:5519133

The NaCl tolerance of different strains of Clostridium botulinum varies over a wide range., and the patterns of NaCl inhibition differ distinctly and characteristically from strain to strain. The more radiation-resistant strains, such as 33A, 62A, and 7272A, are more resistant to NaCl, whereas the more radiation-sensitize strains, such as 51B and 1304E, are more sensitize to NaCl. This rule appears to hold irrespective of whether the spores were unirradiated controls or whether they were radiation damaged prior to exposure to NaCl in the recovery media. The data seem to indicate that radiation doses in the shoulder portion of the radiation survival curves did not noticeably sensitive the spores to NaCl, whereas radiation doses in the exponential-decline portion of the survival curve invariably produced a distinct sensitization. Thus, strains 33A and 62A were not sensitized to NaCl by 0.3 to 0.4 Mrad, i.e., in the shoulder portion of the survival curve. radiation-sensitive strain 51B, which shows no distinct shoulder inits survival curve, was sensitized to NaCl by 0.1 Mrad, the lowest radiation dose employed in this study. These observations seem to suggest a possible relationship between deoxyribonucleic acid repair capacity and salt tolerance.

Research Organization:
Illinois Inst. of Tech., Chicago
OSTI ID:
5519133
Journal Information:
Appl. Environ. Microbiol.; (United States), Journal Name: Appl. Environ. Microbiol.; (United States) Vol. 35:3; ISSN AEMID
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English