Effect of degS-degU mutations on the expression of sigD, encoding an alternative sigma factor, and autolysin operon of Bacillus subtilis

Abstract

Primer extension analysis of transcripts of the Bacillus subtilis autolysin (cwlB) operon indicated that SigD-dependent transcripts from the Pd promoter are missing in the degU32(Hy) and degS200 (Hy) mutants. The degU32(Hy) mutation caused a 99% reduction in the expression of a sigD-lacZ translational fusion gene constructed in the B. subtilis chromosome. The phosphorylated form of the DegU protein seems to be a regulator for expression of the sigD gene.