Spovh And Spovj - New Sporulation Loci In BAcillus Subtilis 168

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Abstract
Three sporulation mutants were isolated which produce spores with an atypical resistance phenotype, i.e., they are sensitive to organic solvents and heat but resistant to lysozyme. All 3 mutants produced serine protease, alkaline phosphatase and glucose dehydrogenase which are biochemical marker events for stages I, II and III. Two of the 3 mutants produced dipicolinic acid, a late marker, but the third was defective in its production. Heat resistance was not restored to any of the mutants by the provision of exogenous dipicolinate. Gel electrophoresis showed that the mutant spores had similar patterns of spore coat proteins to the wild-type and EM revealed no significant structural differences. The 3 mutations responsible for the phenotypes of the mutant spores lie in the phe-argA region of the B. subtilis chromosome. Recombination index values indicate that the mutations are in 3 separate genes. They define at least 2 new sporulation loci, designated spoVH and spoVJ.