CONDENSATION OF THE FORESPORE NUCLEOID EARLY IN SPORULATION OF BACILLUS SPECIES

Fluorescence microscopic examination coupled with digital videoimage analysis of 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole-stained sporulating cells of Bacillus megaterium or Bacillus subtilis revealed a striking condensation of the forespore nucleoid. While both mother cell and forespore compartments had equal amounts of DNA, the forespore nucleoid became > 2-fold more condensed than the mother cell nucleoid. The condensation of the forespore nucleoid began after only the first hour of sporulation, 2 to 3 h before expression of most forespore-specific genes including those for small, acid-soluble spore proteins, and was abolished in spoO mutants but not in spoII or spoIII mutants. It is possible that this striking condensation of forespore DNA plays some role in modulating gene expression during sporulation.