Maximum shields: the assembly and function of the bacterial spore coat

Spores produced by bacilli and clostridia are surrounded by a multilayered protein shell called the coat. As the armor-like appearance of the coat suggests, this structure, along with others within the spore, confers the remarkable resistance properties that make Bacillus anthracis spores such potent biological weapons. Here, I review recent studies of coat assembly in the model organism Bacillus subtilis, and explore the implications of these findings for coat assembly in B. anthracis and for defense against biological weapons.