Delineation of AbrB-binding sites on the Bacillus subtilis spo0H, kinB, ftsAZ, and pbpE promoters and use of a derived homology to identify a previously unsuspected binding site in the bsuB1 methylase promote.

DNase I footprinting experiments showed that AbrB binds to the regulatory regions of the spo0H, kinB, ftsAZ, and pbpE genes. A conserved motif was found in these and other AbrB-binding sites. A search for Bacillus subtilis DNA sequences containing this motif led to the prediction that AbrB would bind to the promoter controlling the bsuB1 methylase gene. DNase I footprinting experiments confirmed this prediction.