CotC-CotU heterodimerization during assembly of the Bacillus subtilis spore coat.
We report evidence that CotC and CotU, two previously identified components of the Bacillus subtilis spore coat, are produced concurrently in the mother cell chamber of the sporulating cell under the control of sigmaK and GerE and immediately assembled around the forming spore. In the coat, the two proteins interact to form a coat component of 23 kDa. The CotU-CotC interaction was not detected in two heterologous hosts, suggesting that it occurs only in B. subtilis. Monomeric forms of both CotU and CotC failed to be assembled at the surface of the developing spore and accumulated in the mother cell compartment of cells mutant for cotE. In contrast, neither CotU nor CotC accumulated in the mother cell compartment of cells mutant for cotH. These results suggest that CotH is required to protect both CotU and CotC in the mother cell compartment of the sporangium and that CotE is needed to allow their assembly and subsequent interaction at the spore surface.
Dipartimento di Biologia Strutturale e Funzionale, Università Federico II, 80126 Napoli, Italy.
Rachele
R
Isticato
Assunta
A
Pelosi
Rita
R
Zilhão
Loredana
L
Baccigalupi
Adriano O
AO
Henriques
Maurilio
M
De Felice
Ezio
E
Ricca
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D001483:Base Sequence; D015153:Blotting, Western; D019281:Dimerization; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D005798:Genes, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011485:Protein Binding; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D013171:Spores, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011503:Transglutaminases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; C077494:CotE protein, Bacillus subtilis; C101016:CotH protein, Bacillus subtilis; C030069:spore-specific proteins, Bacillus; C095500:SodA protein, Bacteria; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase; D011503:Transglutaminases