The spo0J gene of Bacillus subtilis is required for the initiation of sporulation. We show that the sporulation defect caused by null mutations in spo0J is suppressed by a null mutation in the gene located directly upstream from spo0J, soj (suppressor of spo0J). These results indicate that Soj inhibits the initiation of sporulation and that Spo0J antagonizes that inhibition. Further genetic exp...

Sporulation initiation in Bacillus subtilis is controlled by the phosphorylated form of the master regulator Spo0A which controls transcription of a multitude of sporulation genes. In this study, we investigated the importance of temporal dynamics of phosphorylated Spo0A (Spo0A∼P) accumulation by rewiring the network controlling its phosphorylation. We showed that simultaneous induction of KinC...

Anthrax toxin and capsule, determinants for successful infection by Bacillus anthracis, are encoded on the virulence plasmids pXO1 and pXO2, respectively. Each of these plasmids also encodes proteins that are highly homologous to the signal sensor domain of a chromosomally encoded major sporulation sensor histidine kinase (BA2291) in this organism. B. anthracis Sterne overexpressing the plasmid...

Polysomes were isolated from an enterotoxigenic strain of Clostridium perfringens during vegetative growth and at 1-h intervals after transfer into Duncan-Strong sporulation medium. During vegetative growth, about 67% of the ribosomes were in polysomal complexes. This proportion decreased to about 20% during the first 2 h in sporulation medium and then gradually increased to a maximum of 45% at...

We showed previously that a DeltafluG mutation results in a block in Aspergillus nidulans asexual sporulation and that overexpression of fluG activates sporulation in liquid-submerged culture, a condition that does not normally support sporulation of wild-type strains. Here we demonstrate that the entire N-terminal region of FluG ( approximately 400 amino acids) can be deleted without affecting...

Two chromosome partitioning proteins, Soj (ParA) and Spo0J (ParB), regulate the initiation of sporulation in Bacillus subtilis. In a spo0J null mutant, sporulation is inhibited by the action of Soj. Soj negatively regulates expression of several sporulation genes by binding to the promoter regions and inhibiting transcription. All of the genes known to be inhibited by Soj are also activated by ...

A thermosensitive sporulation mutant of Bacillus subtilis containing a mutation in the secY gene was isolated and characterized. No asymmetric septum specific to the sporulation was detected by electron microscopy at the nonpermissive temperature, indicating that the block occurred at a very early stage of sporulation. Furthermore, competence development in the mutant cell was affected even at ...

Clostridium difficile is an anaerobic pathogen that forms spores which promote survival in the environment and transmission to new hosts. The regulatory pathways by which C. difficile initiates spore formation are poorly understood. We identified two factors with limited similarity to the Rap sporulation proteins of other spore-forming bacteria. In this study, we show that disruption of the gen...

Sporulation of diploid yeasts (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), homozygous or heterozygous for temperature-sensitive mitotic cell-cycle mutations, was examined at the restrictive and permissive temperatures. Twenty genes, represented by 32 heterozygotes and 60 homozygotes, were divided into three groups, showing (i) normal sporulation, (ii) no sporulation at the restrictive temperature but normal spo...