Mutations in the gerP locus of Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus cereus affect access of germinants to their targets in spores.

ABSTRACT: The gerP1 transposon insertion mutation of Bacillus cereus is responsible for a defect in the germination response of spores to both L-alanine and inosine. The mutant is blocked at an early stage, before loss of heat resistance or release of dipicolinate, and the efficiency of colony formation on nutrient agar from spores is reduced fivefold. The protein profiles of alkaline-extracted spore coats and the spore cortex composition are unchanged in the mutant. Permeabilization of gerP mutant spores by coat extraction procedures removes the block in early stages of germination, although a consequence of the permeabilization procedure in both wild type and mutant is that late germination events are not complete. The complete hexacistronic operon that includes the site of insertion has been clon

SUBMITTER: Behravan J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC101904 | biostudies-literature | 2000 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature