A new Bacillus subtilis gene with homology to Escherichia coli prc.

We report the cloning of a 2-kb PstI-BamHI fragment of Bacillus subtilis DNA carrying an open reading frame of 1398 bp, herein designated orfRM1. This orf was shown to be transcribed only during vegetative growth from a putative sigma A-specific promoter. The deduced amino acid sequence predicted a polypeptide of 51 kDa (466 aa), which shows significant percentage of identity with the Escherichia coli Prc protein. However no Prc-like phenotypes were observed in a B. subtilis orfRM1 deletion-insertion mutant.