scholarly journals act Operon Control of Developmental Gene Expression in Myxococcus xanthus

2002 ◽  
Vol 184 (4) ◽  
pp. 1172-1179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas M. A. Gronewold ◽  
Dale Kaiser
Keyword(s):  
Fruiting Body ◽  
Myxococcus Xanthus ◽  
The Other ◽  
Loss Of Function ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Developmental Gene ◽  
Developmental Gene Expression ◽  
Mutant Strains ◽  
Genes Encoding ◽  
Signal Production

ABSTRACT Cell-bound C-signal guides the building of a fruiting body and triggers the differentiation of myxospores. Earlier work has shown that transcription of the csgA gene, which encodes the C-signal, is directed by four genes of the act operon. To see how expression of the genes encoding components of the aggregation and sporulation processes depends on C-signaling, mutants with loss-of-function mutations in each of the act genes were investigated. These mutations were found to have no effect on genes that are normally expressed up to 3 h into development and are C-signal independent. Neither the time of first expression nor the rate of expression increase was changed in actA, actB, actC, or actD mutant strains. Also, there was no effect on A-signal production, which normally starts before 3 h. By contrast, the null act mutants have striking defects in C-signal production. These mutations changed the expression of four gene reporters that are related to aggregation and sporulation and are expressed at 6 h or later in development. The actA and actB null mutations substantially decreased the expression of all these reporters. The other act null mutations caused either premature expression to wild-type levels (actC) or delayed expression (actD), which ultimately rose to wild-type levels. The pattern of effects on these reporters shows how the C-signal differentially regulates the steps that together build a fruiting body and differentiate spores within it.

scholarly journals Identification of Major Sporulation Proteins of Myxococcus xanthus Using a Proteomic Approach

2007 ◽  
Vol 189 (8) ◽  
pp. 3187-3197 ◽  
Author(s):  
John L. Dahl ◽  
Farah K. Tengra ◽  
David Dutton ◽  
Jinyuan Yan ◽  
Tracy M. Andacht ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fruiting Body ◽  
Myxococcus Xanthus ◽  
Sodium Dodecyl ◽  
Protein S ◽  
Differentially Expressed ◽  
Insertion Mutagenesis ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Proteomic Approach ◽  
Mutant Strains ◽  
Genes Encoding

ABSTRACT Myxococcus xanthus is a soil-dwelling, gram-negative bacterium that during nutrient deprivation is capable of undergoing morphogenesis from a vegetative rod to a spherical, stress-resistant spore inside a domed-shaped, multicellular fruiting body. To identify proteins required for building stress-resistant M. xanthus spores, we compared the proteome of liquid-grown vegetative cells with the proteome of mature fruiting body spores. Two proteins, protein S and protein S1, were differentially expressed in spores, as has been reported previously. In addition, we identified three previously uncharacterized proteins that are differentially expressed in spores and that exhibit no homology to known proteins. The genes encoding these three novel major spore proteins (mspA, mspB, and mspC) were inactivated by insertion mutagenesis, and the development of the resulting mutant strains was characterized. All three mutants were capable of aggregating, but for two of the strains the resulting fruiting bodies remained flattened mounds of cells. The most pronounced structural defect of spores produced by all three mutants was an altered cortex layer. We found that mspA and mspB mutant spores were more sensitive specifically to heat and sodium dodecyl sulfate than wild-type spores, while mspC mutant spores were more sensitive to all stress treatments examined. Hence, the products of mspA, mspB, and mspC play significant roles in morphogenesis of M. xanthus spores and in the ability of spores to survive environmental stress.

scholarly journals Characterization of an Unstable Allele of the Arabidopsis HY4 Locus

Genetics ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 149 (3) ◽  
pp. 1575-1585
Author(s):  
Edward P Bruggemann ◽  
Bernard Doan ◽  
Korie Handwerger ◽  
Gisela Storz
Keyword(s):  
Fast Neutron ◽  
Blue Light ◽  
Large Deletion ◽  
The Other ◽  
Epigenetic Mechanisms ◽  
Loss Of Function ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Unusual Behavior ◽  
Recessive Lethal

Abstract The Arabidopsis HY4 gene encodes the nonessential blue light photoreceptor CRY1. Loss-of-function hy4 mutants have an elongated hypocotyl phenotype after germination under blue light. We previously analyzed 20 independent hy4 alleles produced by fast neutron mutagenesis. These alleles were grouped into two classes based on their genetic behavior and corresponding deletion size: (1) null hy4 alleles that were semidominant over wild type and contained small or moderate-sized deletions at HY4 and (2) null hy4 alleles that were recessive lethal and contained large HY4 deletions. Here we describe one additional fast neutron hy4 mutant, B144, that did not fall into either of these two classes. Mutant B144 was isolated as a heterozygote with an intermediate hy4 phenotype. One allele from this mutant, hy4-B144Δ, contains a large deletion at HY4 and is recessive lethal. The other allele from this mutant, HY4-B144*, appears to be intact and functional but is unstable and spontaneously converts to a nonfunctional hy4 allele. In addition, HY4-B144* is lethal in homozygotes and suppresses local recombination. We discuss genetic and epigenetic mechanisms that may account for the unusual behavior of the HY4-B144* allele.

Murein components rescue developmental sporulation of Myxococcus xanthus

1982 ◽  
Vol 152 (1) ◽  
pp. 462-470 ◽  
Author(s):  
L J Shimkets ◽  
D Kaiser
Keyword(s):  
Fruiting Body ◽  
High Cell Density ◽  
Myxococcus Xanthus ◽  
Sodium Dodecyl ◽  
Protein Composition ◽  
Diaminopimelic Acid ◽  
Nutrient Level ◽  
High Cell ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Nutrient Rich Medium

Murein (peptidoglycan) components are able to rescue sporulation in certain sporulation-defective mutants of Myxococcus xanthus. N-Acetylglucosamine, N-acetylmuramic acid, diaminopimelic acid, and D-alanine each increase the number of spores produced by SpoC mutants. When all four components are included they have a synergistic effect, raising the number of spores produced by SpoC mutants to the wild-type level. Murein-rescued spores are resistant to heat and sonic oscillation and germinate when plated on a nutrient-rich medium. They appear to be identical to fruiting body spores in their ultrastructure, in their protein composition, and in their resistance to boiling sodium dodecyl sulfate. Murein rescue of sporulation, like fruiting body sporulation, requires high cell density, a low nutrient level, and a solid surface.

scholarly journals Data-Driven Models Reveal Mutant Cell Behaviors Important for Myxobacterial Aggregation

mSystems ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhaoyang Zhang ◽  
Christopher R. Cotter ◽  
Zhe Lyu ◽  
Lawrence J. Shimkets ◽  
Oleg A. Igoshin
Keyword(s):  
Cell Tracking ◽  
Mutant Cell ◽  
Myxococcus Xanthus ◽  
Data Driven ◽  
Self Organization ◽  
Cell Behavior ◽  
Significant Heterogeneity ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mutant Strains

ABSTRACT Single mutations frequently alter several aspects of cell behavior but rarely reveal whether a particular statistically significant change is biologically significant. To determine which behavioral changes are most important for multicellular self-organization, we devised a new methodology using Myxococcus xanthus as a model system. During development, myxobacteria coordinate their movement to aggregate into spore-filled fruiting bodies. We investigate how aggregation is restored in two mutants, csgA and pilC, that cannot aggregate unless mixed with wild-type (WT) cells. To this end, we use cell tracking to follow the movement of fluorescently labeled cells in combination with data-driven agent-based modeling. The results indicate that just like WT cells, both mutants bias their movement toward aggregates and reduce motility inside aggregates. However, several aspects of mutant behavior remain uncorrected by WT, demonstrating that perfect recreation of WT behavior is unnecessary. In fact, synergies between errant behaviors can make aggregation robust. IMPORTANCE Self-organization into spatial patterns is evident in many multicellular phenomena. Even for the best-studied systems, our ability to dissect the mechanisms driving coordinated cell movement is limited. While genetic approaches can identify mutations perturbing multicellular patterns, the diverse nature of the signaling cues coupled to significant heterogeneity of individual cell behavior impedes our ability to mechanistically connect genes with phenotype. Small differences in the behaviors of mutant strains could be irrelevant or could sometimes lead to large differences in the emergent patterns. Here, we investigate rescue of multicellular aggregation in two mutant strains of Myxococcus xanthus mixed with wild-type cells. The results demonstrate how careful quantification of cell behavior coupled to data-driven modeling can identify specific motility features responsible for cell aggregation and thereby reveal important synergies and compensatory mechanisms. Notably, mutant cells do not need to precisely recreate wild-type behaviors to achieve complete aggregation.

scholarly journals Electrical Phenotypes of Calcium Transport Mutant Strains of a Filamentous Fungus, Neurospora crassa

2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 694-702 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Hamam ◽  
Roger R. Lew
Keyword(s):  
Atpase Activity ◽  
Calcium Transport ◽  
Tip Growth ◽  
Electrical Characterization ◽  
Mechanosensitive Channel ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Current Voltage ◽  
Mutant Strains ◽  
Genes Encoding ◽  
Hyphal Tip

ABSTRACT We characterized the electrical phenotypes of mutants with mutations in genes encoding calcium transporters—a mechanosensitive channel homolog ( MscS ), a Ca 2+ /H + exchange protein ( cax ), and Ca 2+ -ATPases ( nca-1 , nca-2 , nca-3 )—as well as those of double mutants (the nca-2 cax , nca-2 nca-3 , and nca-3 cax mutants). The electrical characterization used dual impalements to obtain cable-corrected current-voltage measurements. Only two types of mutants (the MscS mutant; the nca-2 mutant and nca-2 -containing double mutants) exhibited lower resting potentials. For the nca-2 mutant, on the basis of unchanged conductance and cyanide-induced depolarization of the potential, the cause is attenuated H + -ATPase activity. The growth of the nca-2 mutant-containing strains was inhibited by elevated extracellular Ca 2+ levels, indicative of lesions in Ca 2+ homeostasis. However, the net Ca 2+ effluxes of the nca-2 mutant, measured noninvasively with a self-referencing Ca 2+ -selective microelectrode, were similar to those of the wild type. All of the mutants exhibited osmosensitivity similar to that of the wild type (the turgor of the nca-2 mutant was also similar to that of the wild type), suggesting that Ca 2+ signaling does not play a role in osmoregulation. The hyphal tip morphology and tip-localized mitochondria of the nca-2 mutant were similar to those of the wild type, even when the external [Ca 2+ ] was elevated. Thus, although Ca 2+ homeostasis is perturbed in the nca-2 mutant (B. J. Bowman et al., Eukaryot. Cell 10:654–661, 2011), the phenotype does not extend to tip growth or to osmoregulation but is revealed by lower H + -ATPase activity.

scholarly journals Identification and Characterization of Genes Required for Early Myxococcus xanthus Developmental Gene Expression

2000 ◽  
Vol 182 (16) ◽  
pp. 4564-4571 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dongchuan Guo ◽  
Yun Wu ◽  
Heidi B. Kaplan
Keyword(s):  
Response Regulator ◽  
Myxococcus Xanthus ◽  
Normal Growth ◽  
Negative Regulator ◽  
Developmental Expression ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Developmental Gene ◽  
O Antigen ◽  
New Genes ◽  
Positive Regulators

ABSTRACT Starvation and cell density regulate the developmental expression of Myxococcus xanthus gene 4521. Three classes of mutants allow expression of this developmental gene during growth on nutrient agar, such that colonies of strains containing a Tn5 lac Ω4521 fusion are Lac+. One class of these mutants inactivates SasN, a negative regulator of 4521expression; another class activates SasS, a sensor kinase-positive regulator of 4521 expression; and a third class blocks lipopolysaccharide (LPS) O-antigen biosynthesis. To identify additional positive regulators of 4521 expression, 11 Lac− TnV.AS transposon insertion mutants were isolated from a screen of 18,000 Lac+ LPS O-antigen mutants containing Tn5 lac Ω4521 (Tcr). Ten mutations identified genes that could encode positive regulators of4521 developmental expression based on their ability to abolish 4521 expression during development in the absence of LPS O antigen and in an otherwise wild-type background. Eight of these mutations mapped to the sasB locus, which encodes the known 4521 regulators SasS and SasN. One mapped tosasS, whereas seven identified new genes. Three mutations mapped to a gene encoding an NtrC-like response regulator homologue, designated sasR, and four others mapped to a gene designated sasP. One mutation, designatedssp10, specifically suppressed the LPS O-antigen defect; the ssp10 mutation had no effect on 4521expression in an otherwise wild-type background but reduced4521 developmental expression in the absence of LPS O antigen to a level close to that of the parent strain. All of the mutations except those in sasP conferred defects during growth and development. These data indicate that a number of elements are required for 4521 developmental expression and that most of these are necessary for normal growth and fruiting body development.

scholarly journals Two Lipid Signals Guide Fruiting Body Development of Myxococcus xanthus

mBio ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Swapna Bhat ◽  
Tilman Ahrendt ◽  
Christina Dauth ◽  
Helge B. Bode ◽  
Lawrence J. Shimkets
Keyword(s):  
Fatty Acids ◽  
Fatty Acid ◽  
Fruiting Body ◽  
Myxococcus Xanthus ◽  
Chain Fatty Acid ◽  
Fatty Alcohols ◽  
Lipid Bodies ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Bioactive Lipids ◽  
Content Type

ABSTRACTMyxococcus xanthusproduces several extracellular signals that guide fruiting body morphogenesis and spore differentiation. Mutants defective in producing a signal may be rescued by codevelopment with wild-type cells or cell fractions containing the signal. In this paper, we identify two molecules that rescue development of the E signal-deficient mutant LS1191 at physiological concentrations,iso15:0 branched-chain fatty acid (FA) and 1-iso15:0-alkyl-2,3-di-iso15:0-acyl glycerol (TG1), a development-specific monoalkyl-diacylglycerol. The physiological concentrations of the bioactive lipids were determined by mass spectrometry from developing wild-type cells using chemically synthesized standards. Synthetic TG1 restored fruiting body morphogenesis and sporulation and activated the expression of the developmentally regulated gene with locus tagMXAN_2146at physiological concentrations, unlike its nearly identical tri-iso15:0 triacylglycerol (TAG) counterpart, which has an ester linkage instead of an ether linkage.iso15:0 FA restored development at physiological concentrations, unlike palmitic acid, a straight-chain fatty acid. The addition of either lipid stimulates cell shortening, with an 87% decline in membrane surface area, concomitantly with the production of lipid bodies at each cell pole and in the center of the cell. We suggest that cells produce triacylglycerol from membrane phospholipids. Bioactive lipids may be released byprogrammedcelldeath (PCD), which claims up to 80% of developing cells, since cells undergoing PCD produce lipid bodies before lysing.IMPORTANCELike mammalian adipose tissue, many of theM. xanthuslipid body lipids are triacylglycerols (TAGs), containing ester-linked fatty acids. In both systems, ester-linked fatty acids are retrieved from TAGs with lipases and consumed by the fatty acid degradation cycle. Both mammals andM. xanthusalso produce lipids containing ether-linked fatty alcohols with alkyl or vinyl linkages, such as plasmalogens. Alkyl and vinyl linkages are not hydrolyzed by lipases, and no clear role has emerged for lipids bearing them. For example, plasmalogen deficiency in mice has detrimental consequences to spermatocyte development, myelination, axonal survival, eye development, and long-term survival, though the precise reasons remain elusive. Lipids containing alkyl- and vinyl-linked fatty alcohols are development-specific products inM. xanthus. Here, we show that one of them rescues the development of E signal-producing mutants at physiological concentrations.

EnteropathogenicEscherichia coliinhibits butyrate uptake in Caco-2 cells by altering the apical membrane MCT1 level

2006 ◽  
Vol 290 (1) ◽  
pp. G30-G35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alip Borthakur ◽  
Ravinder K. Gill ◽  
Kim Hodges ◽  
Krishnamurthy Ramaswamy ◽  
Gail Hecht ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Surface Expression ◽  
Monocarboxylate Transporter ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Infantile Diarrhea ◽  
Monocarboxylate Transporter 1 ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Food Borne ◽  
Mutant Strains ◽  
Genes Encoding ◽  
Fatty Acid Absorption

Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC), a food-borne human pathogen, is responsible for infantile diarrhea, especially in developing countries. The pathophysiology of EPEC-induced diarrhea, however, is not completely understood. Our recent studies showed modulation of Na+/H+and Cl−/HCO3−exchange activities in Caco-2 cells in response to EPEC infection. We hypothesized that intestinal short-chain fatty acid absorption mediated by monocarboxylate transporter 1 (MCT1) might also be altered by EPEC infection. The aim of the current studies was to examine the effect of EPEC infection on butyrate uptake. Caco-2 cells were infected with wild-type EPEC, various mutant strains, or nonpathogenic E. coli HS4, and [14C]butyrate uptake was determined. EPEC, but not nonpathogenic E. coli, significantly decreased butyrate uptake. Infection of cells with strains harboring mutations in escN, which encodes a putative ATPase for the EPEC type III secretion system (TTSS), or in the espA, espB, or espD genes encoding structural components of the TTSS, had no effect on butyrate uptake, indicating the TTSS dependence. On the other hand, strains with mutations in the effector protein genes espF, espG, espH, and map inhibited butyrate uptake, similar to the wild-type EPEC. Surface expression of MCT1 decreased considerably after EPEC but not after nonpathogenic E. coli infection. In conclusion, our studies demonstrate inhibition of MCT1-mediated butyrate uptake in Caco-2 cells in response to EPEC infection. This inhibition was dependent on a functional TTSS and the structural proteins EspA, -B, and -D of the translocation apparatus.

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