A novel small protein of Bacillus subtilis involved in spore germination and spore coat assembly

Takeko Kodama, Takeshi Matsubayashi, Tadayoshi Yanagihara, Hiroyuki Komoto, Katsutoshi Ara, Katsuya Ozaki, Ritsuko Kuwana, Daisuke Imamura, Hiromu Takamatsu, Kazuhito Watabe, Junichi Sekiguchi*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

14 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Two small genes named sscA (previously yhzE) and orf-62, located in the prsA-yhaK intergenic region of the Bacillus subtilis genome, were transcribed by SigK and GerE in the mother cells during the later stages of sporulation. The SscA-FLAG fusion protein was produced from T5 of sporulation and incorporated into mature spores. sscA mutant spores exhibited poor germination, and Tricine-SDS-PAGE analysis showed that the coat protein profile of the mutant differed from that of the wild type. Bands corresponding to proteins at 59, 36, 5, and 3 kDa were reduced in the sscA null mutant. Western blot analysis of anti-CotB and anti-CotG antibodies showed reductions of the proteins at 59 kDa and 36 kDa in the sscA mutant spores. These proteins correspond to CotB and CotG. By immunoblot analysis of an anti-CotH antibody, we also observed that CotH was markedly reduced in the sscA mutant spores. It appears that SscA is a novel spore protein involved in the assembly of several components of the spore coat, including CotB, CotG, and CotH, and is associated with spore germination.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1119-1128
Number of pages10
JournalBioscience, Biotechnology and Biochemistry
Volume75
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2011
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Bacillus subtilis
  • Germination
  • Small protein
  • Spore coat
  • sscA

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biotechnology
  • Analytical Chemistry
  • Biochemistry
  • Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Organic Chemistry

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