Regulation of endospore formation in Bacillus subtilis

Abstract

Spore formation in bacteria poses a number of biological problems of fundamental significance. Asymmetric cell division at the onset of sporulation is a powerful model for studying basic cell-cycle problems, including chromosome segregation and septum formation. Sporulation is one of the best understood examples of cellular development and differentiation. Fascinating problems posed by sporulation include the temporal and spatial control of gene expression, intercellular communication and various aspects of cell morphogenesis.