Transcriptional control of synthesis of acid-soluble proteins in sporulating Bacillus subtilis

Levels of mRNAs which code for small, acid-soluble spore proteins and their LacZ gene fusions in sporulating cells of Bacillus subtilis

The levels of mRNAs from genes (sspA, B and E) which code for major small, acid-soluble, spore proteins of Bacillus subtilis have been determined, as well as the levels of mRNAs from ssp-lacZ gene fusions. Increasing the gene dosage of ssp-lacZ fusions resulted in parallel increases in both the ssp-lacZ mRNA level and the rate of b-galactosidase accumulation. Similarly, an 11-fold increase in sspE gene dosage gave a comparable increase in sspE mRNA, but at most a 1.5-fold increase in the amount of sspE gene product accumulated. In contrast, an 11-fold increase in the dosage of the sspA or B genes had no significant effect on the level of total sspA plus sspB mRNA, but did alter the ratios of these mRNAs as well as the amount of their gene products, to reflect the altered ratio of the two genes. These results suggest that intact ssp genes, but not ssp-lacZ gene fusions, are subject to feedback regulation of gene expression, with this regulation of the sspA and B genes effected by modulation of mRNA levels, while the feedback regulation of the sspE gene is at the post-transcriptional level.

Cloning, nucleotide sequencing, and genetic mapping of the gene for small, acid-soluble spore protein gamma of Bacillus subtilis

The Bacillus subtilis gene (sspE) which codes for small acid-soluble spore protein gamma (SASP-gamma) was cloned, and its chromosomal location (65 degrees, linked to glpD) and nucleotide sequence were determined. The amino acid sequence of SASP-gamma is similar to that of SASP-B of Bacillus megaterium, but these sequences are not as highly conserved across species as are those of other SASPs. The SASP-gamma gene is transcribed only in sporulation in parallel with other SASP genes and gives a single mRNA that is approximately 340 nucleotides long. The results of hybridization of an sspE gene probe to Southern blots of B. subtilis DNA suggested that there is only a single gene coding for the SASP-gamma type of protein in B. subtilis. This was confirmed by introducing a deletion mutation into the cloned sspE gene and transferring the deletion into the B. subtilis chromosome, with concomitant loss of the wild-type gene. This sspE deletion strain sporulated well, but lacked the SASP-gamma type of protein.

Essential role of small, acid-soluble spore proteins in resistance of Bacillus subtilis spores to UV light

Bacillus subtilis strains containing deletions in the genes coding for one or two of the major small, acid-soluble spore proteins (SASP; termed SASP-alpha and SASP-beta) were constructed. These mutants sporulated normally, but the spores lacked either SASP-alpha, SASP-beta, or both proteins. The level of minor SASP did not increase in these mutants, but the level of SASP-alpha increased about twofold in the SASP-beta- mutant, and the level of SASP-beta increased about twofold in the SASP-alpha- mutant. The growth rates of the deletion strains were identical to that of the wild-type strain in rich or poor growth media, as was the initiation of spore germination. However, outgrowth of spores of the SASP-alpha(-)-beta- strain was significantly slower than that of wild-type spores in all media tested. The heat resistance of SASP-beta- spores was identical to that of wild-type spores but slightly greater than that of SASP-alpha- and SASP-alpha(-)-beta- spores. However, the SASP-alpha- and SASP-alpha(-)-beta- spores were much more heat resistant than vegetative cells. The UV light resistances of SASP-beta- and wild-type spores were also identical. However, SASP-alpha(-)-beta- spores were slightly more sensitive to UV light than were log-phase cells of the wild-type or SASP-alpha(-)-beta- strain (the latter have identical UV light resistances); SASP-alpha- spores were slightly more UV light resistant than SASP-alpha(-)-beta- spores. These data strongly implicate SASP, in particular SASP-alpha, in the UV light resistance of B. subtilis spores.