![Fig. 5.](F9.medium.gif)
CotH kinase activity is required for the proper germination of B. subtilis spores. (A) Germination efficiency was analyzed in spores derived from the strains displayed in Table S2. Germination was induced by L-alanine and measured as the percentage of loss of optical density at 580 nm. (B) Protein immunoblotting of mother cell extracts depicting the time-dependent expression of V5-tagged wild-type CotH and the D251A mutant following induction of sporulation. α-SigA immunoblots are shown as a loading control. (C, Upper) Protein immunoblotting of spore coat extracts depicting the incorporation of V5-tagged CotH into the spore coat. (C, Lower) Ponceau S-stained membrane is shown as a loading control.