A putative ATP-binding protein from the che/fla locus of Bacillus subtilis

A majority of the chemotaxis and flagellar genes of Bacillus subtilis are found in the major che/fla operon which spans over 26 kilobases of DNA and encodes at least 30 genes. In this operon, a single open reading frame, designated orf298, has been demonstrated to encode a 33,131 Dalton protein which shows no evidence of being involved in chemotaxis or motility. A strain disrupted in orf298 was assayed for motility and chemotaxis and always behaved as the wild-type strain. Inspection of the translated sequence revealed a consensus ATP-binding region. While the role of ORF298 has not yet been determined, ATP-binding and/or hydrolysis is a likely function.