Binding of Spo0A stimulates spoIIG promoter activity in Bacillus subtilis

The spoIIG promoter is used by RNA polymerase containing sigma A (E sigma A), the primary form of RNA polymerase found in vegetative cells in Bacillus subtilis. However, the spoIIG promoter is active only after the onset of sporulation. Activation of the spoIIG promoter requires the product of the spo0A gene (Spo0A). Spo0A is a sequence-specific DNA-binding protein which binds to two sites in the spoIIG promoter that are essential for promoter activity. We found that single-base-pair substitutions in these two regions that reduced promoter activity in vivo caused reduced binding of Spo0A in vitro, and one substitution that increased promoter activity in vivo increased the affinity of Spo0A for this DNA in vitro. Furthermore, Spo0A stimulated transcription from the spoIIG promoter by E sigma A in vitro. These results support the model that binding of Spo0A activates E sigma A-dependent transcription from the spoIIG promoter after the onset of sporulation.