How Myxobacteria Cooperate

Cao, Pengbo; Dey, Arka; Vassallo, Christopher N.

doi:10.1016/j.jmb.2015.07.022

Cited by 71 publications

(66 citation statements)

References 113 publications

(188 reference statements)

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“…Future studies in M. xanthus will need to test whether developmental lysis is a result of a toxin-antitoxin system, cell competition, and/or OME function. Previously, it was shown that OME leads to beneficial outcomes (13,40). Here, OME was found to lead to adversarial interactions, which is a typical response for bacterial cell-cell transfer systems.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 75%

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

et al. 2016

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Myxobacteria 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-type Myxococcus 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 of M. xanthus to 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 (by traA allele 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 in traA, 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.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 75%

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

et al. 2016

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“…According to the current model of fruiting body morphogenesis (Søgaard-Andersen et al, 2003), genes that are specifically expressed in sporulating cells depend on aggregation of cells into mounds. In addition, we have demonstrated the absence of McuA in glycerol-induced spores, where sporulation is uncoupled from cell aggregation (Cao, P. et al, 2015). Therefore, a possible explanation for delayed expression of mcuABC in DMXAN3487 is that it might be due to defective cell aggregation.…”

Section: Identification Of Mxan3487 As a Gene That Impacts Mcuabc Expmentioning

confidence: 81%

“…xanthus is a gliding bacterium that possesses two motility systems, the adventurous (A)-and social (S)-motility systems (Cao, P. et al, 2015;Islam & Mignot, 2015), both of which are necessary for aggregation of cells into mounds. To assess A-and S-motility in the DMXAN3487 strain, motility was tested on soft (0.5 %) agar, which favours S-motility, and hard (1.5 %) agar, which favours A-motility (Shi & Zusman, 1993).…”

Section: Identification Of Mxan3487 As a Gene That Impacts Mcuabc Expmentioning

confidence: 99%

A gene encoding a potential adenosine 5′-phosphosulphate kinase is necessary for timely development of Myxococcus xanthus

Wang

Song

et al. 2016

Microbiology

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A Myxococcus xanthus gene, MXAN3487, was identified by transposon mutagenesis to be required for the expression of mcuABC, an operon coding for part of the chaperone-usher (CU) system in this bacterium. The MXAN3487 protein displays sequence and structural homology to adenosine 59-phosphosulphate (APS) kinase family members and contains putative motifs for ATP and APS binding. Although the MXAN3487 locus is not linked to other sulphate assimilation genes, its protein product may have APS kinase activity in vivo and the importance of the ATP-binding site for activity was demonstrated. Expression of MXAN3487 was not affected by sulphate availability, suggesting that MXAN3487 may not function in a reductive sulphate assimilation pathway. Deletion of MXAN3487 significantly delayed fruiting body formation and the production of McuA, a spore coat protein secreted by the M. xanthus Mcu CU system. Based on these observations and data from our previous studies, we propose that MXAN3487 may phosphorylate molecules structurally related to APS, generating metabolites necessary for M. xanthus development, and that MXAN3487 exerts a positive effect on the mcuABC operon whose expression is morphogenesis dependent.

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“…OME is a process by which myxobacteria transiently fuse their outer membranes and exchange their outer membrane proteins and lipids (Figure 5 a ) (13). OME is initiated when two cells make contact on a solid surface (101).…”

Section: Bacterial Kin Recognitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Kin Recognition in Bacteria

Wall

2016

Annu. Rev. Microbiol.

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112

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The ability of bacteria to recognize kin provides a means to form social groups. In turn these groups can lead to cooperative behaviors that surpass the ability of the individual. Kin recognition involves specific biochemical interactions between a receptor(s) and an identification molecule(s). To ensure that nonkin are excluded and kin are included, recognition specificity is critical and depends on the number of loci and polymorphisms involved. After recognition and biochemical perception, the common ensuing cooperative behaviors include biofilm formation, quorum responses, development and swarming motility. Although kin recognition is a fundamental mechanism through which cells might interact, microbiologists are only beginning to explore the topic. This review considers both molecular and theoretical aspects of bacterial kin recognition. Consideration is also given to bacterial diversity, genetic relatedness, kin selection theory, and mechanisms of recognition.

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How Myxobacteria Cooperate

Cited by 71 publications

References 113 publications

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

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

A gene encoding a potential adenosine 5′-phosphosulphate kinase is necessary for timely development of Myxococcus xanthus

Kin Recognition in Bacteria

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