title: Gene encoding two alkali-soluble components of the spore coat from Bacillus subtilis.
abstract: We report the cloning and characterization of a gene called cotF from Bacillus subtilis that encodes alkali-soluble polypeptides of 5 and 8 kDa that are components of the spore coat. The 5- and 8-kDa polypeptides are generated by proteolytic cleavage of the primary product of the cotF gene, which is 160 codons in length and is capable of encoding a polypeptide of 19 kDa. Amino acid sequence analysis indicates that the 5-kDa species is derived from the NH2-terminal portion of the primary gene product and that the 8-kDa species is derived from the COOH-terminal portion. A mutant bearing an in vitro-constructed cotF null mutation produced normal-looking spores that contained an apparently complete set of coat proteins except for the absence of the 5- and 8-kDa polypeptides. The map position of cotF is 349 degrees. Transcription of cotF commenced coincidently (during h 6 of sporulation) with genes known to be under the control of sporulation transcription factor sigma kappa.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cellular and Developmental Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cutting
authors.forename: L B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Losick
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D002213:Capsid / Q000235:genetics*; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009710:Nucleotide Mapping; D012313:RNA / Q000737:chemistry; D013171:Spores, Bacterial; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D012313:RNA