Cloning of an early sporulation gene in Bacillus subtilis

A 0.8-megadalton BglII restriction fragment of Bacillus licheniformis cloned into the BglII site of plasmid pBD64 can complement spo0H mutations of Bacillus subtilis. The clone was isolated by selecting for the Spo+ phenotype and antibiotic resistance, using the helper system described by Gryczan et al. (Mol. Gen. Genet. 177:459-467, 1980). The insert is functional in both orientations and thus presumably has its own promoter. A deletion generated within the 0.8-megadalton insert by HindIII restriction and subsequent religation eliminates the ability of the cloned fragment to complement spo0H mutations. The cloned B. licheniformis deoxyribonucleic acid segment specifies the synthesis, in minicells, of a polypeptide of approximately 27,000 daltons. This protein is observed with both orientations, but not when the HindIII deletion is present in the cloned B. licheniformis chromosomal fragment. We have also demonstrated that ribonucleic acid complementary to the cloned B. licheniformis sporulation gene is transcribed in B. licheniformis both during vegetative growth and sporulation.