title: Assembly of multiple CotC forms into the Bacillus subtilis spore coat.
abstract: We report evidence that the CotC polypeptide, a previously identified component of the Bacillus subtilis spore coat, is assembled into at least four distinct forms. Two of these, having molecular masses of 12 and 21 kDa, appeared 8 h after the onset of sporulation and were probably assembled on the forming spore immediately after their synthesis, since no accumulation of either of them was detected in the mother cell compartment, where their synthesis occurs. The other two components, 12.5 and 30 kDa, were generated 2 h later and were probably the products of posttranslational modifications of the two early forms occurring directly on the coat surface during spore maturation. None of the CotC forms was found either on the spore coat or in the mother cell compartment of a cotH mutant. This indicates that CotH serves a dual role of stabilizing the early forms of CotC and promoting the assembly of both early and late forms on the spore surface.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Fisiologia Generale ed Ambientale, Università Federico II, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Rachele
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Isticato
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Esposito
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zilhão
authors.forename: Sofia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nolasco
authors.forename: Giuseppina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cangiano
authors.forename: Maurilio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: De Felice
authors.forename: Adriano O
authors.initials: AO
authors.lastname: Henriques
authors.forename: Ezio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ricca
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000737:chemistry*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D008970:Molecular Weight; D013171:Spores, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000502:physiology; D020798:Two-Hybrid System Techniques
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; C077494:CotE protein, Bacillus subtilis; C101016:CotH protein, Bacillus subtilis