A metabolic portrait of the developing bacterial endospore

Bacterial endospore formation is characteristic of several Gram-positive bacteria, including Bacillus subtilis. An asymmetric cell division gives rise to a sporangium containing the forespore, which becomes the dormant spore, and the mother cell, which lyses as sporulation completes. Spore formation has been studied for many years as an exquisite program of bacterial cellular differentiation. Comparatively little attention has been paid to how cellular metabolism is structured during this resource and energy-demanding program. Which major metabolic pathways are active in the forespore and in the mother cell? Are metabolites transferred between the two cells? What about energy? Are ATP and reducing potential generated in one or both compartments? In this seminar, I will share some of our recent efforts to address those questions.