The role of ADP ribosylation of proteins in the physiological regulation of sporulation in Streptomyces griseus was studied. We report here that both the activity of NAD+: arginine ADP-ribosyltransferase (ADPRT) and the pattern of ADP-ribosylated proteins showed characteristic changes during the life cycle in S. griseus 2682. Analysis off ADP-ribosylated proteins revealed that in a nonsporulating mutant of the parental wild-type (wt) strain (Bld7 mutant), both the activity of ADPRT and the pattern of ADP-ribosylated proteins were different from those of the parental strain. Addition of 3-aminobenzamide (3AB), the most potent inhibitor of ADPRT, inhibited sporulation of S. griseus 2682 and the A-factor (AF)-induced sporulation of S. griseus Bld7, but in both cases the inhibitory effect of 3AB was strictly age-dependent. Using [alpha-32P]GTP, we have demonstrated the presence of GTP-binding proteins in purified cell membranes of S. griseus 2682 and S. griseus Bld7. The same GTP-binding proteins were observed in Bld7 and the wt. AF stimulated the basal GTPase activity of cell membranes of S. griseus 2682 in a concentration-dependent manner, suggesting that GTP-binding proteins might be involved in the AF-induced sporulation process.