Our research employs the Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis as an experimental model system to study the generation of asymmetry during development. Triggered by nutrient limitation, B.subtilis enters a pathway of differentiation that culminates in the formation of a dormant stress-resistant cell-type called a spore. Entry into sporulation involves the remodeling of the sister chromosomes into an axial filament structure and the formation of an asymmetrically positioned septum, which divides the developing cell unequally into forespore (the smaller cell) and mother cell compartments. Our primary research goal is to understand the chain of events that are required for the establishment of asymmetric cell division. We are interested in exploring: How is asymmetry generated and how is it exploited? How does septum position switch from the cell middle to the pole? How is the DNA architecture changed during development and how is it linked to polar division?