IBS seminar: Assembly and properties of the spore surface in Bacillus subtilis

By Pr Patrick Eichenberger (Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University, USA)

Surface properties constrain dispersal of bacterial spores in the environment. In Bacillus subtilis, a soil organism used as a model for spore formation, properties like adhesion and hydrophobicity are influenced by the outermost layer of the spore, the crust. Previous work has shown that the crust is composed of polysaccharides and at least six proteins. Here, using fluorescence microscopy and electron microscopy approaches, we investigate how the crust is assembled, including anchoring of the polysaccharides to a specific crust protein. We also analyzed the consequences of deleting individual crust proteins or enzymes required for polysaccharide synthesis.

Hosted by C. Morlot (IBS/Pneumococcus Group)