Maximum shields: the assembly and function of the bacterial spore coat.
Spores produced by bacilli and clostridia are surrounded by a multilayered protein shell called the coat. As the armor-like appearance of the coat suggests, this structure, along with others within the spore, confers the remarkable resistance properties that make Bacillus anthracis spores such potent biological weapons. Here, I review recent studies of coat assembly in the model organism Bacillus subtilis, and explore the implications of these findings for coat assembly in B. anthracis and for defense against biological weapons.
Driks
Adam
A
Dept of Microbiology and Immunology, Loyola University Medical Center, 2160 South First Ave, Maywood, IL 60153, USA. adriks@lumc.edu
D001408:Bacillus anthracis / Q000502:physiology; D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000502:physiology*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D001694:Biological Warfare; D008954:Models, Biological; D009024:Morphogenesis; D012808:Sigma Factor; D013171:Spores, Bacterial / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D014157:Transcription Factors
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D012808:Sigma Factor; D014157:Transcription Factors; C092468:spoIIR protein, Bacillus subtilis; C030069:spore-specific proteins, Bacillus