Abstract: Under adverse environmental conditions, spore-forming bacteria can form spores, which are capable of surviving for many years in extreme environments. When environmental conditions are favorable, they germinate into vegetative cells, which seriously affects product quality and shelf life. At present, the conventional culture method is most commonly used for detecting spore-forming bacteria in foods, which takes 48 hours or more, and cannot accurately and reliably monitor the number of spores, having definite limitations. This paper reviews a variety of methods for the detection of spore-forming bacteria, including the conventional culture method, nucleic acid amplification-based assays, fluorescent dye-based assays, and dipicolinic acid (DPA)-based assays. Furthermore, the advantages of these methods, as well as their detection times and detection limits are summarized with the aim of providing basic knowledge and research background for the detection of spore-producing bacteria.

Key words: spores; polymerase chain reaction; flow cytometry; dipicolinic acid; detection methods