Sporulation and Germination of <i>Paenibacillus larvae</i> Cells

Endospores are metabolically dormant cells formed by a variety of Gram-positive bacteria within the phylum Firmicutes in response to nutrient limiting or otherwise unfavorable growth conditions. American foulbrood disease (AFB) is a serious disease of honeybees that is caused by the introduction of Paenibacillus larvae endospores into a honeybee colony. Progression to fulminant disease and eventual collapse of the colony requires multiple rounds of endospore germination, vegetative replication, endospore formation, and subsequent spread within the colony. This unit includes protocols for the in vitro sporulation and germination of P. larvae to assist investigators in the study of these processes. © 2018 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.