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. 1991 Jan 1;88(1):77–81. doi: 10.1073/pnas.88.1.77

Binding of small acid-soluble spore proteins from Bacillus subtilis changes the conformation of DNA from B to A.

S C Mohr 1, N V Sokolov 1, C M He 1, P Setlow 1
PMCID: PMC50751  PMID: 1898779

Abstract

Small acid-soluble spore proteins (SASPs) appear 3-4 hr after the onset of sporulation in Gram-positive bacteria and constitute up to 20% of the protein of mature spores. Previous studies using Bacillus subtilis deletion mutants lacking SASP-alpha and -beta have shown that such mutations abolish the elevated resistance of spores to UV radiation. Analyses using circular dichroism and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy now demonstrate that binding alpha/beta-type SASPs to DNA in vitro causes a structural change in DNA, from the B to the A conformation. This may provide the basis whereby alpha/beta-type SASPs confer increased spore UV resistance in vivo--by changing spore DNA conformation, they alter DNA photochemistry such that UV irradiation produces spore photoproduct instead of the more lethal cyclobutane-type thymine dimers.

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Selected References

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