Impaired cell division and sporulation of a Bacillus subtilis strain with the ftsA gene deleted.
The ftsZ and ftsA genes of Bacillus subtilis are organized in a simple operon expressed from promoter sequences immediately upstream of ftsA. The promoter-distal ftsZ gene is an essential septation gene. In this report, it is shown that the promoter-proximal ftsA gene can be deleted in a previously constructed strain in which the essential gene, ftsZ, is under the control of the inducible spac promoter. Absence of the ftsA gene product resulted in a very filamentous morphology indicating an important role for ftsA in cell division. Also, growth was severely impaired, and viability and sporulation were reduced. The defective sporulation phenotype correlated with a deficiency in the processing of pro-sigma E to its active form.
Beall
B
B
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia 30322.
Lutkenhaus
J
J
D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000166:cytology* / Q000235:genetics; D002455:Cell Division; D002872:Chromosome Deletion; D004252:DNA Mutational Analysis; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D013171:Spores, Bacterial
D004269:DNA, Bacterial