THE SUBTILIN GENE OF BACILLUS-SUBTILIS ATCC-6633 IS ENCODED IN AN OPERON THAT CONTAINS A HOMOLOG OF THE HEMOLYSIN-B TRANSPORT PROTEIN

Sequence analysis upstream from the subtilin structural gene (spaS) in Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633 revealed several open reading frames, SpaB, SpaC, and SpaD. SpaB, consisting of 599 amino acid residues, shows excellent homology with a variety of membrane translocator proteins, such as HlyB from Escherichia coli and some mammalian multidrug resistance proteins. When the spaB gene was interrupted by integration of a chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene, the ability of the cell to produce subtilin, as determined by a halo assay, was lost. The homology of SpaB to translocator proteins, including transmembrane and ATP-binding regions, suggests that SpaB may play a role in subtilin secretion. The SpaB open reading frame overlaps with another open reading frame called SpaC, and the possibility that the SpaB and SpaC proteins become fused by frameshifting is considered. Regions of homology between SpaD (177 residues) and HlyD were also found, suggesting that SpaD may participate with SpaB in translocation of subtilin through the membrane. Although no readily interpretable homologies to SpaC (442 residues) were found, its sequence suggests that it is membrane associated. The absence of rho-independent transcription terminators between these open reading frames suggests that they are all part of the same operon.