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Science 27 October 1995:
Vol. 270. no. 5236, pp. 641 - 644
DOI: 10.1126/science.270.5236.641
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Reports

Activation of Cell-Specific Transcription by a Serine Phosphatase at the Site of Asymmetric Division

Leonard Duncan,  Scott Alper,  Fabrizio Arigoni,  Richard Losick (1),  Patrick Stragier

Cell fate is determined by cell-specific activation of transcription factor ^F after asymmetric division during sporulation by Bacillus subtilis. The activity of ^F is governed by SpoIIAA, SpoIIAB, and SpoIIE, a membrane protein localized at the polar septum. SpoIIAB binds to and inhibits ^F, and SpoIIAA inhibits SpoIIAB, which prevents SpoIIAB from binding to ^F. SpoIIAB is also a serine kinase that inactivates SpoIIAA. Here, it is demonstrated that SpoIIE dephosphorylates SpoIIAA-P and overcomes SpoIIAB-mediated inhibition of ^F. The finding that SpoIIE is a serine phosphatase links asymmetric division to the pathway governing cell-specific gene transcription.


L. Duncan, S. Alper, R. Losick, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Biological Laboratories, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
F. Arigoni and P. Stragier, Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique, 75005 Paris, France.
(1) To whom correspondence should be addressed.


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