Identification of esg, a genetic locus involved in cell-cell signaling during Myxococcus xanthus development

Abstract

JD258, a Tn5 insertion mutant of Myxococcus xanthus, was shown to have major defects in three development-associated properties: expression of the developmentally regulated tps gene, spore formation, and production of multicellular fruiting bodies. The defects in tps gene expression and sporulation could be substantially corrected, at the phenotypic level, by mixing JD258 with wild-type cells (extracellular complementation). By this criterion, JD258 appeared to be a new member of a group of conditional developmental mutants that were previously characterized and placed in four extracellular complementation groups (A to D) based on the ability of mutants in one group to stimulate development in mutants belonging to a different group (D. C. Hagen, A. P. Bretscher, and D. Kaiser, Dev. Biol. 64:284-296, 1978). Mutants from groups A, B, C, and D all displayed extracellular complementation activity when mixed with JD258. These results, and other aspects of the phenotype of JD258, indicate that this mutant defines a fifth extracellular complementation group, group E. The M. xanthus esg locus identified by the Tn5 insertion in JD258 was cloned in Escherichia coli and used for further genetic analysis of the locus. These studies indicated that the esg locus resides within a 2.5-kb region of the M. xanthus chromosome and that the locus contains at least two genetic complementation groups. Our results are consistent with a model in which the esg locus controls the production of a previously unrecognized extracellular signal that must be transmitted between cells for the completion of M. xanthus development.

A genetic link between light response and multicellular development in the bacterium Myxococcus xanthus.

“…This is also distinct from carD. Contrary to carD1, esg mutations affect the expression of the tps gene (see below), and the restriction map of the carD locus differs from that of esg (Downard et al 1993).…”

Novel Iso-branched Ether Lipids as Specific Markers of Developmental Sporulation in the Myxobacterium Myxococcus xanthus

“…Consequently, disruptions of the bkd genes (also termed esg from E-signal (22)) result in a dramatic decrease in the amount of iso-FAs due to a severe reduction of isovalerylCoA levels. Because the wild-type fatty acid profile and the normal life cycle can be restored in the bkd mutant by adding isovalerate (IVA), it was speculated that an iso-FA or a corresponding lipid is involved in the developmental process (10,23).…”

In vitro transcription of Myxococcus xanthus genes with RNA polymerase containing σA, the major sigma factor in growing cells

“…Within fruiting bodies, rod-shaped cells differentiate into dormant, ovoid spores. This developmental process depends on at least five different extracellular signals that are passed between cells (Hagen et al, 1978;Downard et al, 1993). These cellcell interactions are required at different stages of development to control a highly ordered programme of gene expression (Kaiser and Kroos, 1993).…”