impact of inducing germination of Bacillus anthracis and Bacillus thuringiensis spores on potential secondary decontamination strategies

AIMS: Decontamination and remediation of a site contaminated by the accidental or intentional release of fully virulent Bacillus anthracis spores are difficult, costly and potentially damaging to the environment. Development of novel decontamination strategies that have minimal environmental impacts remains a high priority. Although ungerminated spores are amongst the most resilient organisms known, once exposed to germinants, the germinating spores, in some cases, become susceptible to antimicrobial environments. We evaluated the concept that once germinated, B. anthracis spores would be less hazardous and significantly easier to remediate than ungerminated dormant spores. METHODS AND RESULTS: Through in vitro germination and sensitivity assays, we demonstrated that upon germination, B. anthracis Ames spores and Bacillus thuringiensis Al Hakam spores (serving as a surrogate for B. anthracis) become susceptible to environmental stressors. The majority of these germinated B. anthracis and B. thuringiensis spores were nonviable after exposure to a defined minimal germination‐inducing solution for prolonged periods of time. Additionally, we examined the impact of potential secondary disinfectant strategies including bleach, hydrogen peroxide, formaldehyde and artificial UV‐A, UV‐B and UV‐C radiation, employed after a 60‐min germination‐induction step. Each secondary disinfectant employs a unique mechanism of killing; as a result, germination‐induction strategies are better suited for some secondary disinfectants than others. CONCLUSIONS: These results provide evidence that the deployment of an optimal combination strategy of germination‐induction/secondary disinfection may be a promising aspect of wide‐area decontamination following a B. anthracis contamination event. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: By inducing spores to germinate, our data confirm that the resulting cells exhibit sensitivities that can be leveraged when paired with certain decontamination measures. This increased susceptibility could be exploited to devise more efficient and safe decontamination measures and may obviate the need for more stringent methods that are currently in place.