Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29286386›Full record

ArticleJournal of visualized experiments : JoVE2017

Investigating the Detrimental Effects of Low Pressure Plasma Sterilization on the Survival of Bacillus subtilis Spores Using Live Cell Microscopy.

Felix M Fuchs, Marina Raguse, Marcel Fiebrandt, Kazimierz Madela, Peter Awakowicz, Michael Laue, Katharina Stapelmann, Ralf Moeller

Open access · greenAbstract readVideo-Audio Media
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.2field-weighted citation impact, top 39% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Felix M FuchsDepartment of Radiation Biology, Institute of Aerospace Medicine, Space Microbiology Research Group, German Aerospace Center (DLR e.V.).
Marina RaguseDepartment of Radiation Biology, Institute of Aerospace Medicine, Space Microbiology Research Group, German Aerospace Center (DLR e.V.); Institute of Electrical Engineering and Plasma Technology, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Ruhr-University Bochum; Institute of Electrical Engineering and Plasma Technology, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Biomedical Applications of Plasma Technology, Ruhr-University Bochum.
Marcel FiebrandtInstitute of Electrical Engineering and Plasma Technology, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Ruhr-University Bochum.
Kazimierz MadelaAdvanced Light and Electron Microscopy (ZBS 4), Robert Koch Institute.
Peter AwakowiczInstitute of Electrical Engineering and Plasma Technology, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Ruhr-University Bochum.
Michael LaueAdvanced Light and Electron Microscopy (ZBS 4), Robert Koch Institute.
Katharina StapelmannInstitute of Electrical Engineering and Plasma Technology, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Biomedical Applications of Plasma Technology, Ruhr-University Bochum.
Ralf MoellerDepartment of Radiation Biology, Institute of Aerospace Medicine, Space Microbiology Research Group, German Aerospace Center (DLR e.V.); Ralf.Moeller@dlr.de.
Space Micro (United States) · USPlasma Technology (United States) · USRobert Koch Institute · DERuhr University Bochum · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Plasma sterilization is a promising alternative to conventional sterilization methods for industrial, clinical, and spaceflight purposes. Low pressure plasma (LPP) discharges contain a broad spectrum of active species, which lead to rapid microbial inactivation. To study the efficiency and mechanisms of sterilization by LPP, we use spores of the test organism Bacillus subtilis because of their extraordinary resistance against conventional sterilization procedures. We describe the production of B. subtilis spore monolayers, the sterilization process by low pressure plasma in a double inductively coupled plasma reactor, the characterization of spore morphology using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the analysis of germination and outgrowth of spores by live cell microscopy. A major target of plasma species is genomic material (DNA) and repair of plasma-induced DNA lesions upon spore revival is crucial for survival of the organism. Here, we study the germination capacity of spores and the role of DNA repair during spore germination and outgrowth after treatment with LPP by tracking fluorescently-labelled DNA repair proteins (RecA) with time-resolved confocal fluorescence microscopy. Treated and untreated spore monolayers are activated for germination and visualized with an inverted confocal live cell microscope over time to follow the reaction of individual spores. Our observations reveal that the fraction of germinating and outgrowing spores is dependent on the duration of LPP-treatment reaching a minimum after 120 s. RecA-YFP (yellow fluorescence protein) fluorescence was detected only in few spores and developed in all outgrowing cells with a slight elevation in LPP-treated spores. Moreover, some of the vegetative bacteria derived from LPP-treated spores showed an increase in cytoplasm and tended to lyse. The described methods for analysis of individual spores could be exemplary for the study of other aspects of spore germination and outgrowth.

Indexed as

Bacillus subtilisDNA, BacterialDNA RepairMicrobial ViabilityMicroscopySpores, BacterialSterilizationDNA, Bacterial

Identifiers

PMID29286386
PMCPMC5755509
OpenAlexW2773742058

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.