Bacillus subtilis spore coat assembly requires cotH gene expression

An analysis of a cotE cotH double mutant gene from Bacillus subtilis reveals that CotH may be localized in the inner coat. CotH is involved in the assembly of many proteins on the outer layer of the coat. Spores of the cotH null mutant, though impaired in germination, are resistant to heat, lysozyme and chloroform. The mutant spores are pleiotropically deficient in many coat proteins such as products of cotB, cotC and cotG. The cotH gene is located at 300 degrees on the B. subtilis genetic map between the two divergent genes, cotB and cotG.