A genetic analysis of Spo0A structure and function.

Mutations that enhanced sporulation in the presence of high concentrations of key nutrients (coi mutations) included at least four lesions within the phosphoacceptor domain of spo0A, a member of the response regulator family of "two-component" signal transduction proteins. The nature of these mutations and the phenotypes they produce support the model that the sporulation state of Spo0A controls the initiation of sporulation. This was further supported by the observation that site-directed mutations of acidic pocket aspartate residues expected to prevent phosphorylation also completely abolished sporulation. Using some of the acidic pocket aspartate substitution mutants as starting material, intragenic suppressors were isolated that restored efficient sporulation. Suppressors of D56Q mutations were deletions that removed all or part of the first alpha helix of the phosphoacceptor domain. Structural modelling of these deletions suggests a hypothesis to explain how phosphorylation of response regulator proteins may result in a conformational change that activates their effector functions.