Presence of Guanosine 5'-Diphosphate 3'-Diphosphate in Bacillus subtilis Vegetative Cells

Abstract

Extracts of Bacillus subtilis vegetative cells with 2M formic acid contained a large amount of a hyperphosphorylated nucleotide (“spot 4” nucleotide). The compound always comigrated with authentic guanosine 5'-diphosphate 3'-diphosphate (ppGpp) on two-dimensional polyethyleneimine (PEI)-cellulose thin-layer chromatography performed with three different solvent systems. Furthermore, all dephosphorylated ³²P-labeled derivatives from the “spot 4” nucleotide comigrated on a one-dimensional PEI-cellulose plate with those from authentic ppGpp present in the same reaction mixture, when the compounds were hydrolyzed with snake venom phosphodiesterase or alkali. The level of the “spot 4” nucleotide (ppGpp) in the cell extracts was 0.14 nmol P/A₆₆₀, corresponding to about one-third of the guanosine 5'-triphosphate (GTP) level and about 10%. of the adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) level. These results indicate that a “magic spot” nucleotide, ppGpp, is present at a high level in B. subtilis cells vegetatively growing in mNSMP.