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Journal of Bacteriology, August 2005, p. 5356-5366, Vol. 187, No. 15
0021-9193/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.187.15.5356-5366.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Swarming Differentiation and Swimming Motility in Bacillus subtilis Are Controlled by swrA, a Newly Identified Dicistronic Operon

Cinzia Calvio,^2, Francesco Celandroni,^1, Emilia Ghelardi,¹ Giuseppe Amati,² Sara Salvetti,¹ Fabrizio Ceciliani,³ Alessandro Galizzi,² and Sonia Senesi^1*

Dipartimento di Patologia Sperimentale, Biotecnologie Mediche, Infettivologia ed Epidemiologia, Università di Pisa, 56127 Pisa,¹ Dipartimento di Genetica e Microbiologia "A. Buzzati-Traverso" and Centro di Eccellenza in Biologia Applicata, Università degli Studi di Pavia, 27100 Pavia,² Dipartimento di Patologia Animale, Igiene e Sanità Pubblica Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20133 Milano, Italy³

Received 15 March 2005/ Accepted 13 May 2005

The number and disposition of flagella harbored by eubacteria are regulated by a specific trait successfully maintained over generations. The genes governing the number of flagella in Bacillus subtilis have never been identified, although the ifm locus has long been recognized to influence the motility phenotype of this microorganism. The characterization of a spontaneous ifm mutant of B. subtilis, displaying diverse degrees of cell flagellation in both liquid and solid media, raised the question of how the ifm locus governs the number and assembly of functional flagella. The major finding of this investigation is the characterization of a newly identified dicistronic operon, named swrA, that controls both swimming motility and swarming differentiation in B. subtilis. Functional analysis of the swrA operon allowed swrAA (previously named swrA [D. B. Kearns, F. Chu, R. Rudner, and R. Losick, Mol. Microbiol. 52:357-369, 2004]) to be the first gene identified in B. subtilis that controls the number of flagella in liquid environments and the assembly of flagella in response to cell contact with solid surfaces. Evidence is given that the second gene of the operon, swrAB, is essential for enabling the surface-adhering cells to undergo swarming differentiation. Preliminary data point to a molecular interaction between the two gene products.

These authors have contributed equally to this work.

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