Evolution of the transcription complex during sporulation of Bacillus subtilis

Abstract

Ribonucleic acid polymerase activity in partially purified extract of cells of Bacillus subtilis harvested at different times (t 1, to, t,, and t2) was studied by zone centrifugation. During the course of sporulation, vegetative sigma-factor activity decreased and the transcription complex lost some of its affinity for active sigma factor. The complex underwent a two-stage change in sedimentation value, from 14.5S in vegetative growth phase to a 13S species very early in sporulation to a 16S species at later times. Two Spo0 mutants have been studied by zone centrifugation. One strain, a rifampin-resistant (RfmR) mutant, failed to show any modification of the transcription complex, whereas the other, a Rfms strain, underwent a partial evolution of the transcription complex after to. M Tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane-hydrochloride, pH 7.9; 0.01 M MgCl,; 0.2 M KCl; 0.1 mM 74

Genetic evidence for possible interaction between a ribonucleic acid polymerase subunit and the spo0C gene product of Bacillus subtilis

“…The product of the spoOC (spoOA) gene might be a transcriptional component essential for the initiation of sporulation. Many biochemical and genetic studies indicate the involvement of transcriptional regulation in sporulation (1,16,18,19,25,26,28,29), but we cannot exclude the possibility that the rif mutation interacts with the spoOC mutation indirectly.…”

Genetic aspects of bacterial endospore formation.

“…Consequently, it is now thought that modification of RNA polymerase specificity may occur through interaction with other protein factors. Thus, much attention has focused on the isolation of protein factors that appear during sporulation and are able to bind to the RNA polymerase core (39,96,109,138,163). As yet, none of these proteins has been shown to modify the specificity of RNA polymerase.…”

Early-blocked asporogenous mutants of Bacillus subtilis are lysogenized at reduced frequency by temperate bacteriophages

“…Losick and his collaborators reported that the activity of the sigma subunit of B. subtilis RNA polymerase (EC 2.7.7.6) decreased during the first hours of sporulation (20,21,35,40) and that the sigma subunit of some mutants blocked in sporulation remained active during the stationary phase (5,34,35,40). However, the relationship between the loss of the sigma activity and the early sporulation events, especially the production of antibiotics, is not clear.…”