IDENTIFICATION OF A BACILLUS-SUBTILIS SPO0H ALLELE THAT IS NECESSARY FOR SUPPRESSION OF THE SPORULATION-DEFECTIVE PHENOTYPE OF A SPO0A MUTATION

A mutation in Bacillus subtilis spo0A codon 97 suppressed the sporulat ion defect caused by the spo0A9V mutation. The suppressor activity of the codon 97 mutation was evident only in the presence of a novel spo0 H allele. Our results suggest that the spo0A gene product interacts wi th the sigma factor subunit of RNA polymerase.