Synthesis of sigma 29, an RNA polymerase specificity determinant, is a developmentally regulated event in Bacillus subtilis.

Using an immunological probe, we have determined that the synthesis of the Bacillus subtilis RNA polymerase promoter specificity determinant sigma 29 is a developmentally regulated event. sigma 29 is absent from vegetatively growing cells but is abundant in sporulating cells for a restricted (2-h) period during differentiation (hour 2 to hour 4 into the sporeforming process). The narrowness of this period suggests that sigma 29 is a regulatory factor that directs the transcription of a subpopulation of genes at a precise, intermediate stage of spore formation. This view predicts that sigma 29 should be dispensable for early sporulation events. We verified this prediction by an analysis of sigma 29 accumulation in mutants that are blocked at different stages of sporulation in which we show that cells can advance to at least an intermediate point in development (stage III) in the absence of detectable sigma 29. Lastly, our anti-sigma 29 antibody probe detected a second, previously unrecognized protein in Bacillus cell extracts that may be a precursor to sigma 29. This protein, P31 (molecular weight, 31,000) is synthesized earlier in sporulation than is sigma 29. It has a peptide profile that is similar to sigma 29 and is present in all Bacillus subtilis Spo- mutants that were tested and found to still be able to accumulate sigma 29.