Determination of cell fate in Bacillus subtilis

Abstract

On starvation, the soil bacterium Bacillus subtilis stops dividing and initiates sporulation, a simple developmental process involving the differentiation of two cell types. Sporulation begins with a reorganization of the cell cycle, to produce cells with the size and chromosome content appropriate for the developmental process. The central division that would normally occur, to produce a pair of identical daughter cells, is blocked and the cell divides asymmetrically to produce a small, polar prespore cell and a much larger mother cell. The developmental fates of the two cells are dictated by the localized activation of cell-specific transcription factors, which are controlled by mechanisms that respond to the cellular asymmetry.