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SpoOA Onset of sporulation – (Stage I - II)

Spo0A during the onset of sporulation

Phosphorylated Spo0A binds to the so-called 0A box (TGNCGAA) present in the promoter sequences of 121 genes ⁴². High levels of phosphorylated Spo0A are required for the activation of the low-affinity promoters in front of sporulation-specific genes, such as racA, spoIIA, spoIIE and spoIIG and for the repression of genes involved in (for instance) cell division ⁴⁴ and competence development ⁷⁵. Accordingly, Spo0A is repeatedly described to play a key role in the initial stages of spore development such as asymmetric septum formation, engulfment and compartmentalized gene expression ³³.