Spores are broadly classified into two different types based on their location, known as endospores and exospores. There are two types of reproductive structures or spores, endospores and exospores, which are produced as fixed or resting systems. Sports types, i.e. endospores, normally produced by bacteria.
Exospores or ectospores are produced in eukaryotic cells of algae, cyanobacteria, and fungi. In both cases, the spore matures and develops into a new organism. So, they can be considered as germ cells.
The metabolic rate of the sperm and ectoderm is very low and therefore remains nutritionally deficient. Both the inner and outer epidermis have very resistant structures and are unicellular.
What is Exospores?
Ectospores are also resistant organisms produced by algae and fungi that reproduce asexually under harsh conditions. Exospores are produced by cell division at the end or surface of the parent cell.
Differentiation of ectosperms occurs with the formation of a wall or barrier between the daughter cell and the mother cell.
Under favorable conditions they are released from the bud when the contacts germinate and the bud is released from the mother cell by the budding process.
What is Endospore?
They contain DNA and a small amount of cytoplasm surrounded by a protective outer shell. The endosperm cell wall is composed of dipicolinic acid which adds to endosperm thermotolerant properties. Moist, moist heat treatment at 121 degrees for 15 minutes can destroy bacterial endosperms.
When environmental conditions are favorable, endospores germinate into new organisms. Therefore, intestinal bacteria can be considered as a type of progenitor cell or germ cell.
Endosperms are very resistant to high temperatures and can withstand adverse conditions such as toxic chemicals, dehydration and UV radiation.
Difference Between Endospore and Exospore
| Endospore | Exospore |
| Endospores are generated by the Clostridium Bacillus and Sporosarcina bacteria. | Exospores are produced by the members of the phylum Actinobacteria. |
| Formed within or inside the vegetative cell. | Formation outside the vegetative cell. |
| It is a structure formed by bacteria. | It is an asexual spore that is separated from the mother cell. |
| Cell division is not involved in the formation of endospores. | Exospores are produced by cell division. |
| Endospores are released by rupturing the mother cell. | Exospores are released by budding. |
| Only one endospore is produced by a single organism | Several exospores are produced by a single organism |
| Examples of endospores producing organisms are Bacillus anthracis, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus thuringiensis, Clostridium botulinum, and Clostridium tetani. | Examples of exospores producing organisms are Actinomycetes, algae and fungi. |
