Lab strains of Bacillus subtilis have lost a plasmid that encodes phosphatase RapP, which targets the Spo0A sporulation pathway and thus regulates sporulation and growth. Here, Zu et al. show that RapP enhances growth by preventing expression of the Spo0A-mediated adaptive response during exponential phase, resulting in reallocation of cellular resources towards biosynthetic pathways without compromising long-term fitness during stationary phase.
- Manlu Zhu
- Yiheng Wang
- Xiongfeng Dai