RT Journal Article SR Electronic(1) A1 Turner, S. M. A1 Errington, J. A1 Mandelstam, J.YR 1986 T1 Use of a lacZ Gene Fusion to Determine the Dependence Pattern of Sporulation Operon spoIIIC in spo Mutants of Bacillus subtilis: a Branched Pathway of Expression of Sporulation Operons JF Microbiology, VO 132 IS 11 SP 2995 OP 3003 DO https://doi.org/10.1099/00221287-132-11-2995 PB Microbiology Society, SN 1465-2080, AB SUMMARY: The sporulation gene spoIIIC from Bacillus subtilis was fused to the lacZ gene from Escherichia coli, so that the transcription of the lacZ gene was under the control of the spoIIIC promoter. Production of β-galactosidase, under conditions of sporulation, was then used as an indicator to study the expression of spoIIIC in relation to other sporulation loci. Expression of spoIIIC, which occurred only in the mother cell compartment, was prevented by mutations in all of the stage 0 and stage II loci, and also by spoIIID, spoIV A and spoIV B mutations. By contrast, the last three operons are not needed for expression of spoV A, which has previously been shown to be spore-specific. In consequence, a branched pathway of gene expression is proposed. One branch leads to expression of spoV A within the spore compartment, the other to expression of spoIIIC in the mother cell., UL https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/micro/10.1099/00221287-132-11-2995