Cell-division initiation protein; Required for vegetative and sporulation septum formation. Required for the activation of genes expressed under the control of the sporulation transcription factors sigma F and sigma E.

Stage III sporulation protein; Evidence 1a: Function experimentally demonstrated in the studied strain; Product type cp: cell process.

Inhibitor of the pro-sigma(K) processing machinery; Involved in the mediation of the intercompartmental coupling of pro-sigma K processing to events in the forespore. Inhibits SpoIVFB- processing activity until a signal has been received from the forespore. Could inhibit SpoIVFB metalloprotease activity by coordinating a zinc in the SpoIVFB active site, preventing access of a water molecule and the sequence of pro-sigma K, which are necessary for peptide bond hydrolysis to produce sigma-K.

Protein required for the switch from F to G during sporulation (anti sigma F); An anti-sigma factor for sporulation specific sigma-F factor, by antagonizing sigma-F it allows the switch to sigma-G factor and progression to the late sporulation development stages. Might stabilize or process Holliday junction intermediates, although this may be due to polar effects on the downstream mfd gene.

Regulator of SpoIVFB (stage IV sporulation); Implicated in the coupling of mother cell to forespore gene expression. Required for spore formation at 37 degrees Celsius, but not at 30 degrees Celsius. SpoIVFA plays a central role in both maintaining the SpoIVFA/BofA/SpoIVFB complex and anchoring it to the outer forespore membrane. SpoIVFA brings BofA into close proximity to SpoIVFB, allowing BofA to inhibit SpoIVFB. Increased accumulation of SpoIVFA seems to inhibit the activity of SpoIVFB and thus regulates the activation of sigma-K.

Stage IV sporulation protein; Evidence 2a: Function of homologous gene experimentally demonstrated in an other organism; Product type cp: cell process.

Conserved hypothetical protein; Evidence 4: Homologs of previously reported genes of unknown function.

SpoIIAA-phosphate serine phosphatase; Normally needed for pro-sigma E processing during sporulation but can be bypassed in vegetative cells. Activates SpoIIAA by dephosphorylation.

Protease processing pro-sigma-E; Probable aspartic protease that is responsible for the proteolytic cleavage of the RNA polymerase sigma E factor (SigE/spoIIGB) to yield the active peptide in the mother cell during sporulation. Responds to a signal from the forespore that is triggered by the extracellular signal protein SpoIIR. Belongs to the peptidase U4 family.