A mutation in GerE that affects cotC promoter activation in Bacillus subtilis.

The DNA-binding protein GerE acts as both a repressor and an activator of transcription of genes transcribed by sigma(K)-RNA polymerase (RNA-P) during the later stages of endospore formation in Bacillus subtilis. GerE represses transcription from the sigK promoter, and activates transcription from other promoters, including cotC and cotX. Two different regions of GerE (AR1 and AR2) are required for activation of cotC and cotX, respectively.

Two regions of GerE required for promoter activation in Bacillus subtilis.

GerE from Bacillus subtilis is the smallest member of the LuxR-FixJ family of transcription activators. Its 74-amino-acid sequence is similar over its entire length to the DNA binding domain of this protein family, including a putative helix-turn-helix (HTH) motif. In this report, we sought to define regions of GerE involved in promoter activation.