Heat shock in Bacillus subtilis: genetic characterization of a mutant.

Bacillus subtilis strain BUL786, a transposon-generated mutant, lacks a 97 kD protein following heat shock and has unique protein secretion properties. In this study, transduction analysis demonstrated that the properties of high temperature protease secretion, heat shock protein distribution, and loss of the 97 kD heat shock protein were all transferred as a single trait to recipient bacteria. The high temperature-specific protease released by this mutant into the supernatant was also shown to be produced during heat shock by the parental cells, but is retained intracellularly.