Transcriptional activation of the Bacillus subtilis spoIIG promoter by the response regulator Spo0A is independent of the C-terminal domain of the RNA polymerase alpha subunit.

In vitro transcription from the spoIIG promoter by Bacillus subtilis RNA polymerase reconstituted with wild-type alpha subunits and with C-terminal deletion mutants of the alpha subunit was equally stimulated by the response regulator Spo0A. Some differences in the structure of open complexes formed by RNA polymerase containing alpha subunit mutants were noted, although the wild-type and mutant polymerases appeared to use the same initiation mechanism.