scholarly journals Sibling Rivalry in Myxococcus xanthus Is Mediated by Kin Recognition and a Polyploid Prophage

2016 ◽  
Vol 198 (6) ◽  
pp. 994-1004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arup Dey ◽  
Christopher N. Vassallo ◽  
Austin C. Conklin ◽  
Darshankumar T. Pathak ◽  
Vera Troselj ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Surface ◽  
Kin Recognition ◽  
Myxococcus Xanthus ◽  
Laboratory Strain ◽  
Cell Surface Receptor ◽  
Form Complex ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Recognition Specificity ◽  
Surface Receptor ◽  
Evolutionary Event

ABSTRACTMyxobacteria form complex social communities that elicit multicellular behaviors. One such behavior is kin recognition, in which cells identify siblings via their polymorphic TraA cell surface receptor, to transiently fuse outer membranes and exchange their contents. In addition, outer membrane exchange (OME) regulates behaviors, such as inhibition of wild-typeMyxococcus xanthus(DK1622) from swarming. Here we monitored the fate of motile cells and surprisingly found they were killed by nonmotile siblings. The kill phenotype required OME (i.e., was TraA dependent). The genetic basis of killing was traced to ancestral strains used to construct DK1622. Specifically, the kill phenotype mapped to a large “polyploid prophage,” Mx alpha. Sensitive strains contained a 200-kb deletion that removed two of three Mx alpha units. To explain these results, we suggest that Mx alpha expresses a toxin-antitoxin cassette that uses the OME machinery ofM. xanthusto transfer a toxin that makes the population “addicted” to Mx alpha. Thus, siblings that lost Mx alpha units (no immunity) are killed by cells that harbor the element. To test this, an Mx alpha-harboring laboratory strain was engineered (bytraAallele swap) to recognize a closely related species,Myxococcus fulvus. As a result,M. fulvus, which lacks Mx alpha, was killed. These TraA-mediated antagonisms provide an explanation for how kin recognition specificity might have evolved in myxobacteria. That is, recognition specificity is determined by polymorphisms intraA, which we hypothesize were selected for because OME with non-kin leads to lethal outcomes.IMPORTANCEThe transition from single cell to multicellular life is considered a major evolutionary event. Myxobacteria have successfully made this transition. For example, in response to starvation, individual cells aggregate into multicellular fruiting bodies wherein cells differentiate into spores. To build fruits, cells need to recognize their siblings, and in part, this is mediated by the TraA cell surface receptor. Surprisingly, we report that TraA recognition can also involve sibling killing. We show that killing originates from a prophage-like element that has apparently hijacked the TraA system to deliver a toxin to kin. We hypothesize that this killing system has imposed selective pressures on kin recognition, which in turn has resulted in TraA polymorphisms and hence many different recognition groups.

scholarly journals More than Rotating Flagella: Lipopolysaccharide as a Secondary Receptor for Flagellotropic Phage 7-7-1

2018 ◽  
Vol 200 (19) ◽  
Author(s):  
Floricel Gonzalez ◽  
Richard F. Helm ◽  
Katherine M. Broadway ◽  
Birgit E. Scharf
Keyword(s):  
Membrane Protein ◽  
Cell Surface ◽  
Cell Surface Receptor ◽  
Content Type ◽  
New Findings ◽  
Surface Receptor ◽  
Transposon Mutants ◽  
Secondary Receptor ◽  
Flagellar Rotation ◽  
Resistant Mutants

ABSTRACTBacteriophage 7-7-1, a member of the familyMyoviridae, infects the soil bacteriumAgrobacteriumsp. strain H13-3. Infection requires attachment to actively rotating bacterial flagellar filaments, with flagellar number, length, and rotation speed being important determinants for infection efficiency. To identify the secondary receptor(s) on the cell surface, we isolated motile, phage-resistantAgrobacteriumsp. H13-3 transposon mutants. Transposon insertion sites were pinpointed using arbitrary primed PCR and bioinformatics analyses. Three genes were recognized, whose corresponding proteins had the following computationally predicted functions: AGROH133_07337, a glycosyltransferase; AGROH133_13050, a UDP-glucose 4-epimerase; and AGROH133_08824, an integral cytoplasmic membrane protein. The first two gene products are part of the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) synthesis pathway, while the last is predicted to be a relatively small (13.4-kDa) cytosolic membrane protein with up to four transmembrane helices. The phenotypes of the transposon mutants were verified by complementation and site-directed mutagenesis. Additional characterization of motile, phage-resistant mutants is also described. Given these findings, we propose a model forAgrobacteriumsp. H13-3 infection by bacteriophage 7-7-1 where the phage initially attaches to the flagellar filament and is propelled down toward the cell surface by clockwise flagellar rotation. The phage then attaches to and degrades the LPS to reach the outer membrane and ejects its DNA into the host using its syringe-like contractile tail. We hypothesize that the integral membrane protein plays an important role in events following viral DNA ejection or in LPS processing and/or deployment. The proposed two-step attachment mechanism may be conserved among other flagellotropic phages infecting Gram-negative bacteria.IMPORTANCEFlagellotropic bacteriophages belong to the tailed-phage orderCaudovirales, the most abundant phages in the virome. While it is known that these viruses adhere to the bacterial flagellum and use flagellar rotation to reach the cell surface, their infection mechanisms are poorly understood. Characterizing flagellotropic-phage–host interactions is crucial to understanding how microbial communities are shaped. Using a transposon mutagenesis approach combined with a screen for motile, phage-resistant mutants, we identified lipopolysaccharides as the secondary cell surface receptor for phage 7-7-1. This is the first cell surface receptor identified for flagellotropic phages. One hypothetical membrane protein was also recognized as essential for infection. These new findings, together with previous results, culminated in an infection model for phage 7-7-1.

Expression, function, and localization of the REG cell surface receptor

2001 ◽  
Vol 120 (5) ◽  
pp. A18-A19
Author(s):  
B DIECKGRAEFE ◽  
C HOUCHEN ◽  
H ZHANG
Keyword(s):  
Cell Surface ◽  
Cell Surface Receptor ◽  
Surface Receptor

Inhibition of rat ventricular automaticity by adenosine

1985 ◽  
Vol 248 (6) ◽  
pp. H907-H913 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. J. Heller ◽  
R. A. Olsson
Keyword(s):  
Cell Surface ◽  
Cell Surface Receptor ◽  
Chronotropic Effect ◽  
Surface Receptors ◽  
Adenosine Concentration ◽  
Surface Receptor ◽  
Ventricular Automaticity ◽  
Beating Rate ◽  
Chronotropic Effects ◽  
Developed Pressure

This study was designed to characterize adenosine's negative chronotropic effect on ventricular pacemakers. The spontaneous beating rate of isolated, isovolumic rat ventricular preparations perfused with Krebs-Henseleit solution decreased as the adenosine concentration was increased [log M effective concentration 50% (EC50) = -5.22 +/- 0.17]. The lack of effect of propranolol or atropine on this adenosine response eliminates the involvement of endogenous neurotransmitters. Support for the involvement of an external cell surface receptor was provided by findings that theophylline and 8-(4-sulfophenyl)theophylline, an analogue thought to act solely at the cell surface, significantly increased the adenosine log M EC50 to -3.94 +/- 0.22 and -3.61 +/- 0.22, respectively. An increase in spontaneous beating rate induced by theophylline, but not by its analogue, was blocked by the addition of propranolol. The relative chronotropic potency of the adenosine analogues R-PIA, S-PIA, and NECA suggests that the cell surface receptors may be of the Ri type. The negative chronotropic effects of adenosine and its analogues occurred at concentrations that had no effect on the developed pressure of the paced preparation. Electrocardiographic evaluations indicate that at high agonist concentrations, there was an abrupt alteration in electrical properties of the preparation, which could be blocked by theophylline and its analogue.

scholarly journals The cell surface receptor for immunoglobulin E. II. Properties of the purified biologically active receptor.

1979 ◽  
Vol 254 (9) ◽  
pp. 3194-3200
Author(s):  
A. Kulczycki ◽  
B L Hempstead ◽  
S L Hofmann ◽  
E W Wood ◽  
C W Parker
Keyword(s):  
Cell Surface ◽  
Immunoglobulin E ◽  
Biologically Active ◽  
Cell Surface Receptor ◽  
Surface Receptor
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