title: Characterization of a Bacillus anthracis spore coat-surface protein that influences coat-surface morphology.
abstract: Bacterial spores are encased in a multilayered proteinaceous shell, called the coat. In many Bacillus spp., the coat protects against environmental assault and facilitates germination. In Bacillus anthracis, the spore is the etiological agent of anthrax, and the functions of the coat likely contribute to virulence. Here, we characterize a B. anthracis spore protein, called Cotbeta, which is encoded only in the genomes of the Bacillus cereus group. We found that Cotbeta is synthesized specifically during sporulation and is assembled onto the spore coat surface. Our analysis of a cotbeta null mutant in the Sterne strain reveals that Cotbeta has a role in determining coat-surface morphology but does not detectably affect germination. In the fully virulent Ames strain, a cotbeta null mutation has no effect on virulence in a murine model of B. anthracis infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mallozzi
authors.forename: Joel
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bozue
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Giorno
authors.forename: Krishna-Sulayman
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Moody
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Slack
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cote
authors.forename: Dengli
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: McKenney
authors.forename: Erh-Min
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: Janine R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Maddock
authors.forename: Arthur
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Friedlander
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Welkos
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Eichenberger
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Driks
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000881:Anthrax / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000401:mortality; D001408:Bacillus anthracis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000472:pathogenicity* / Q000502:physiology; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D013171:Spores, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins