Formation of spores by species of Bacillus and Clostridium is a primitive system of cell differentiation. It involves an asymmetrically located division. This gives rise to two distinct cell types, the mother cell and the prespore, which have radically different developmental fates. The prespore is engulfed by the mother cell and develops into the mature, heat- resistant spore. The mother cell is required for that development but ultimately lyses. In Bacillus subtilis it has been shown that two RNA polymerase sigma factors, F and E, are activated upon division, with sigmaF active exclusively in the prespore and sigmaE active exclusively in the mother cell. These sigma factors direct the subsequent program of compartmentalized gene expression, but do not direct the process of compartmentalization. The main problems being addressed are how compartmentalization of gene expression is established and how gene expression is coordinated with morphological changes. A dominant feature in the thinking about compartmentalization in Bacilli and Clostridia has been the grossly asymmetric location of the sporulation division. It is proposed to test for other possible determinants of compartmentalization in a species of spore-forming coccus, Sporosarcina ureae, in which the sporulation division is symmetrically located. It is proposed to develop a two-part system that tests the completeness of compartmentalization. This system will be used to search for and characterize B. subtilis mutants with impaired compartmentalization. It will also be used to test the completeness of compartmentalization in S. ureae. It is proposed to explore the requirement for the SpoIIE protein in order to have an asymmetric division in B. subtilis. It is proposed to test the role of chromosome resolution in spore formation. It is proposed to identify and characterize genes involved in engulfment of the prespore by the mother cell in B. subtilis.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01GM043577-14
Application #
6180277
Study Section
Microbial Physiology and Genetics Subcommittee 2 (MBC)
Program Officer
Greenberg, Judith H
Project Start
1986-07-01
Project End
2003-03-31
Budget Start
2000-04-01
Budget End
2001-03-31
Support Year
14
Fiscal Year
2000
Total Cost
$306,644
Indirect Cost
Name
Temple University
Department
Microbiology/Immun/Virology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
City
Philadelphia
State
PA
Country
United States
Zip Code
19122
Regan, Genevieve; Itaya, Mitsuhiro; Piggot, Patrick J (2012) Coupling of ýýG activation to completion of engulfment during sporulation of Bacillus subtilis survives large perturbations to DNA translocation and replication. J Bacteriol 194:6264-71
Xenopoulos, Panagiotis; Piggot, Patrick J (2011) Regulation of growth of the mother cell and chromosome replication during sporulation of Bacillus subtilis. J Bacteriol 193:3117-26
Chary, Vasant K; Xenopoulos, Panagiotis; Eldar, Avigdor et al. (2010) Loss of compartmentalization of ?(E) activity need not prevent formation of spores by Bacillus subtilis. J Bacteriol 192:5616-24
Eldar, Avigdor; Chary, Vasant K; Xenopoulos, Panagiotis et al. (2009) Partial penetrance facilitates developmental evolution in bacteria. Nature 460:510-4
Chary, Vasant K; Xenopoulos, Panagiotis; Piggot, Patrick J (2006) Blocking chromosome translocation during sporulation of Bacillus subtilis can result in prespore-specific activation of sigmaG that is independent of sigmaE and of engulfment. J Bacteriol 188:7267-73
Chary, V K; Hilbert, D W; Higgins, M L et al. (2000) The putative DNA translocase SpoIIIE is required for sporulation of the symmetrically dividing coccal species Sporosarcina ureae. Mol Microbiol 35:612-22
Moldover, B; Cao, L; Piggot, P J (1994) Identification of a control region for expression of the forespore-specific Bacillus subtilis locus spoVA. Microbiology 140 ( Pt 9):2299-304
Schuch, R; Piggot, P J (1994) The dacF-spoIIA operon of Bacillus subtilis, encoding sigma F, is autoregulated. J Bacteriol 176:4104-10
Bylund, J E; Zhang, L; Haines, M A et al. (1994) Analysis by fluorescence microscopy of the development of compartment-specific gene expression during sporulation of Bacillus subtilis. J Bacteriol 176:2898-905
Birkey, S M; Sun, G; Piggot, P J et al. (1994) A pho regulon promoter induced under sporulation conditions. Gene 147:95-100

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