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Journal of Bacteriology, June 2006, p. 4131-4136, Vol. 188, No. 11
0021-9193/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.00265-06
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Transcription of the Bacillus subtilis gerK Operon, Which Encodes a Spore Germinant Receptor, and Comparison with That of Operons Encoding Other Germinant Receptors

Takao Igarashi and Peter Setlow*

Department of Molecular, Microbial, and Structural Biology, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, Connecticut 06030-3305

Received 20 February 2006/ Accepted 16 March 2006

The gerA, gerB, and gerK operons, which encode germinant receptors in spores of Bacillus subtilis, were transcribed only in sporulation, and their mRNA levels peaked initially ~3 h before the initiation of accumulation of the spore's dipicolinic acid. After a rapid fall, levels of these mRNAs peaked again ~5 h later. In one wild-type strain (PS832), gerA mRNA was the most abundant, with levels of gerB and gerK mRNAs ~50% of that of gerA mRNA, whereas gerB mRNA was the most abundant in another wild-type strain (PY79). The synthesis of gerK mRNA in sporulation was abolished by loss of the forespore-specific RNA polymerase sigma factor, {sigma}G, and induction of {sigma}G synthesis in vegetative cells led to synthesis of gerK mRNA. SpoVT, a regulator of {sigma}G-dependent gene expression, repressed gerK expression. The gerK promoter showed sequence similarities to {sigma}G-dependent promoters, and deletion of elements of this putative promoter abolished gerK expression in sporulation.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Molecular, Microbial, and Structural Biology, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT 06030-3305. Phone: (860) 679-2607. Fax: (860) 679-3408. E-mail: setlow{at}nso2.uchc.edu.

Journal of Bacteriology, June 2006, p. 4131-4136, Vol. 188, No. 11
0021-9193/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.00265-06
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Pelczar, P. L., Setlow, P. (2008). Localization of the Germination Protein GerD to the Inner Membrane in Bacillus subtilis Spores. J. Bacteriol. 190: 5635-5641 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Pelczar, P. L., Igarashi, T., Setlow, B., Setlow, P. (2007). Role of GerD in Germination of Bacillus subtilis Spores. J. Bacteriol. 189: 1090-1098 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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