Endospores and Endospore Staining
••• Introduction •••
Bacterial
endospores are highly resistant, thick walled structures formed by vegetative
cells
during a process called sporulation, and they are quite possibly the most
resistant
forms
of life. They are highly resistant to radiation, chemical agents,
extremely high
temperatures,
dessication, and other normally harmful environments. Several bacterial
genera
are capable of producing endospores; Bacillus and Clostridium
are the two
most
common endospore-producing genera. Due to the highly resistant nature
of
endospores,
it is necessary to steam stain into them. The most common endospore
staining
technique is the Schaeffer-Fulton method.
