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Ancestral sporulation initiation
Author(s) -
Dürre Peter
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
molecular microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.857
H-Index - 247
eISSN - 1365-2958
pISSN - 0950-382X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2958.2011.07628.x
Subject(s) - clostridia , biology , clostridium acetobutylicum , bacillus subtilis , bacilli , phosphorylation , kinase , clostridium , endospore , microbiology and biotechnology , genetics , spore , biochemistry , bacteria , butanol , ethanol
Summary Members of the classes Bacilli and Clostridia are able to form endospores, with clostridia representing the ancestral phylogenetic line. In contrast to Bacillus subtilis , the process of sporulation initiation at the molecular level is less well understood in Clostridium acetobutylicum , the model organism of the clostridia. Especially the question of how the master regulator of sporulation, Spo0A, becomes phosphorylated, remained unsolved so far. Steiner et al . now provide compelling genetic and biochemical evidence for two different pathways of direct phosphorylation of Spo0A in C. acetobutylicum by three orphan sensor kinases. Cac0903 and Cac3319 act together, while the other pathway is only dependent on Cac0323. Abortion of sporulation initiation can be achieved by a kinase‐like protein, Cac0437.