Antagonistic role of CotG and CotH on spore germination and coat formation in Bacillus subtilis

PLoS One. 2014 Aug 12;9(8):e104900. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0104900. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

Spore formers are bacteria able to survive harsh environmental conditions by differentiating a specialized, highly resistant spore. In Bacillus subtilis, the model system for spore formers, the recently discovered crust and the proteinaceous coat are the external layers that surround the spore and contribute to its survival. The coat is formed by about seventy different proteins assembled and organized into three layers by the action of a subset of regulatory proteins, referred to as morphogenetic factors. CotH is a morphogenetic factor needed for the development of spores able to germinate efficiently and involved in the assembly of nine outer coat proteins, including CotG. Here we report that CotG has negative effects on spore germination and on the assembly of at least three outer coat proteins. Such negative action is exerted only in mutants lacking CotH, thus suggesting an antagonistic effect of the two proteins, with CotH counteracting the negative role of CotG.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Bacillus subtilis / drug effects
  • Bacillus subtilis / genetics
  • Bacillus subtilis / physiology*
  • Bacterial Proteins / genetics
  • Bacterial Proteins / physiology*
  • Base Sequence
  • DNA, Bacterial / genetics
  • Genes, Bacterial
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Muramidase / pharmacology
  • Mutation
  • Protein Multimerization / genetics
  • Protein Multimerization / physiology
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins / genetics
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins / metabolism
  • Spores, Bacterial / drug effects
  • Spores, Bacterial / genetics
  • Spores, Bacterial / physiology

Substances

  • Bacterial Proteins
  • CotH protein, Bacillus subtilis
  • DNA, Bacterial
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins
  • cotG protein, Bacillus subtilis
  • Muramidase

Grants and funding

This work was supported by EU grants (contract number 613703 and 614088) to ER. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.