Table 2.
B. subtilis essential genes
| DNA metabolism | 27 |
| Basic replication machinery | 16 |
| Packaging and segregation | 9 |
| Methylation | 2 |
| RNA metabolism | 14 |
| Basic transcription machinery | 4 |
| RNA modification | 6 |
| Regulation | 4 |
| Protein synthesis | 95 |
| Ribosomal proteins | 52 |
| Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases | 24 |
| Translation factors | 10 |
| Protein folding and modification | 3 |
| Protein translocation | 6 |
| Cell envelope | 44 |
| Membrane lipids | 16 |
| Cell wall | 28 |
| Cell shape and division | 10 |
| Glycolysis | 8 |
| Respiratory pathways | 22 |
| Isoprenoids | 8 |
| Menaquinone | 8 |
| Cytochrome biogenesis | 3 |
| Thioredoxin | 3 |
| Nucleotides | 10 |
| Cofactors | 15 |
| CoA | 1 |
| Folate | 3 |
| NAD | 4 |
| S-Adenosylmethionine | 1 |
| Iron–sulfur cluster | 6 |
| Other | 15 |
| Unknown | 11 |
| Total | 271 |
A complete list of genes and the evidence used to ascertain their essential nature are presented in Table 4.