Maximum rates of germination of wild-type and <i>gerW B. megaterium</i> spores in response to varying concentrations of glucose or proline.

B. megaterium spores were heat shocked and incubated in 5 mM Tris-HCl, pH 7.8 plus the designated concentration of glucose or proline, and germination was monitored by measuring OD600 loss as described in Methods. The maximum % OD600 loss per min was calculated from plots of OD600 versus time. Values shown are the averages of results from three independent experiments conducted with the same spore preparations, and the standard deviations were <15% of the averages. Maximum rates of germination of wild-type and gerW B. megaterium spores in response to varying concentrations of glucose or proline.