Isolation and mapping of a new suppressor mutation of an early sporulation gene spo0F mutation in Bacillus subtilis

Abstract

We constructed an spo0F deletion (spo0FΔS) mutant of Bacillus subtilis by inserting a chromosomal segment carried by plasmid pUBSFΔS. This plasmid carries a 0.7-kilobase pair deletion that removes the spo0F promoter and a part of the structural gene. We used the spo0F deletion mutant to isolate a new intergenic suppressor of the spo0F phenotype, designated sof1. The sof1 suppressor completely restores the sporulation ability of all spo0F defective mutants tested, including spo0F77, spo0F221 and spo0FΔS. The sof1 suppressor maps to the left of lys1 on the B. subtilis chromosome, in a region rich in sporulation markers and distant from the spo0F locus.