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Journal of Bacteriology, July 2001, p. 4317-4322, Vol. 183, No. 14
0021-9193/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/JB.183.14.4317-4322.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Localization of GerAA and GerAC Germination Proteins in the Bacillus subtilis Spore

Kaye D. Hudson,1 Bernard M. Corfe,1,dagger E. Helen Kemp,1,Dagger Ian M. Feavers,1,§ Peter J. Coote,2,|| and Anne Moir1,*

Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN,1 and Unilever Research, Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire MK44 1LQ,2 United Kingdom

Received 9 March 2001/Accepted 26 April 2001

The GerAA, -AB, and -AC proteins of the Bacillus subtilis spore are required for the germination response to L-alanine as the sole germinant. They are likely to encode the components of the germination apparatus that respond directly to this germinant, mediating the spore's response; multiple homologues of the gerA genes are found in every spore former so far examined. The gerA operon is expressed in the forespore, and the level of expression of the operon appears to be low. The GerA proteins are predicted to be membrane associated. In an attempt to localize GerA proteins, spores of B. subtilis were broken and fractionated to give integument, membrane, and soluble fractions. Using antibodies that detect Ger proteins specifically, as confirmed by the analysis of strains lacking GerA and the related GerB proteins, the GerAA protein and the GerAC+GerBC protein homologues were localized to the membrane fraction of fragmented spores. The spore-specific penicillin-binding protein PBP5*, a marker for the outer forespore membrane, was absent from this fraction. Extraction of spores to remove coat layers did not release the GerAC or AA protein from the spores. Both experimental approaches suggest that GerAA and GerAC proteins are located in the inner spore membrane, which forms a boundary around the cellular compartment of the spore. The results provide support for a model of germination in which, in order to initiate germination, germinant has to permeate the coat and cortex of the spore and bind to a germination receptor located in the inner membrane.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, United Kingdom. Phone: 44 (0) 114-2224418. Fax: 44 (0) 114-2728697. E-mail: a.moir{at}sheffield.ac.uk.

dagger Present address: School of Biological Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, United Kingdom.

Dagger Present address: Clinical Sciences Centre, University of Sheffield, Northern General Hospital, Sheffield S5 7AU, United Kingdom.

§ Present address: NIBSC, South Mimms, Hertfordshire EN6 3QG, United Kingdom.

|| Present address: Centre for Biomolecular Sciences, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews KY16 9ST, United Kingdom.

Journal of Bacteriology, July 2001, p. 4317-4322, Vol. 183, No. 14
0021-9193/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/JB.183.14.4317-4322.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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