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Journal of Bacteriology, September 2002, p. 4936-4940, Vol. 184, No. 17
0021-9193/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JB.184.17.4936-4940.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

The Spectrum of Spontaneous Rifampin Resistance Mutations in the rpoB Gene of Bacillus subtilis 168 Spores Differs from That of Vegetative Cells and Resembles That of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Wayne L. Nicholson^1,2* and Heather Maughan²

Department of Veterinary Science and Microbiology,¹ Graduate Interdisciplinary Program in Genetics, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721²

Received 25 February 2002/ Accepted 11 June 2002

Mutations causing rifampin resistance in vegetative cells of Bacillus subtilis 168 have thus far been mapped to a rather restricted set of alterations at either Q469 or H482 within cluster I of the rpoB gene encoding the ß subunit of RNA polymerase. In this study, we demonstrated that spores of B. subtilis 168 exhibit a spectrum of spontaneous rifampin resistance mutations distinct from that of vegetative cells. In addition to the rpoB mutations Q469K, Q469R, and H482Y previously characterized in vegetative cells, we isolated a new mutation of rpoB, H482R, from vegetative cells. Additional new rifampin resistance mutations arising from spores were detected at A478N and most frequently at S487L. The S487L change is the predominant change found in rpoB mutations sequenced from rifampin-resistant clinical isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The observations are discussed in terms of the underlying differences of the DNA environment within dormant cells and vegetatively growing cells.

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* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Veterinary Science and Microbiology, Building 90, Room 102, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721. Phone: (520) 621-2157. Fax: (520) 621-6366. E-mail: WLN{at}u.arizona.edu.

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Journal of Bacteriology, September 2002, p. 4936-4940, Vol. 184, No. 17
0021-9193/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JB.184.17.4936-4940.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

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