Abstract
A 1.4-megadalton EcoRI restriction fragment carrying Bacillus subtilis speculation gene spoOB was cloned from the specialized transducing phage, ø105spoOB, into a unique EcoRI site of plasmid vector pUBHO, and four plasmids having a deletion in the 1.4-megadalton EcoRI fragment were constructed. Analysis of the polypeptides synthesized in B. subtilis minicells harboring these plasmids and the sporulation ability of strain UOT0436 (spoOB136 recE4) harboring these plasmids showed that the spoOB gene product is a polypeptide of 24, 000 daltons. Two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel analysis showed that the isoelectric point of this protein is almost neutral.
