FIG. 3.

Identification of cell fate determinants involved in alcohol-produced inhibition of cellular morphogenesis in B. subtilis. (A) Cartoon summarizing a hypothetical scenario in which alcohol treatment triggers the expression of more than one negative regulator of spore development that would interfere with the activation of Spo0A by the phosphorelay (possibility 1) and its activity as a transcription factor (possibility 2). These induced antisporulation regulatory factors should be responsible for the inhibition of the activity of the phosphorelay signaling system (phosphorylation of Spo0A) and the inhibition of the activity of Spo0A∼P itself. (B) Identification of alcohol-resistant transposants after the generation of the insertional mini-Tn10 library, enrichment, isolation, and DNA sequencing (40). The DNA sequence information permitted the determination of the precise location of the original transpositions of mini-Tn10 in clones 1 and 2 of B. subtilis that generated the alcohol-resistant phenotype observed on the sporulation plates.