Sensory Regulation of Myxococcus xanthus Motility
Emilia M.F. Mauriello, Beiyan Nan and David R. Zusman
from: Myxobacteria: Genomics, Cellular and Molecular Biology (Edited by: Zhaomin Yang and Penelope I. Higgs). Caister Academic Press, U.K. (2014)
Abstract
Myxococcus xanthus cells grow vegetatively on organic nutrients and by killing and digesting prey microorganisms. On hard surfaces, efficient food gathering requires cells to be able to move without flagella. When nutrients become scarce, cells respond by adjusting their movement in order to aggregate into fruiting bodies containing resistant spores. These activities require M. xanthus cells to perceive and respond to many signals. To this purpose, M. xanthus evolved multiple sensory transduction pathways, including one-component, two-component and complex chemosensory systems. In this chapter, we focus on the M. xanthus chemosensory systems and how they control individual cell and group movements, since environmental sensing is essential for survival, permitting bacteria to react to continuously changing external conditions read more ...
