Skip to main content
Journal of Bacteriology logoLink to Journal of Bacteriology
. 1989 Apr;171(4):2042–2048. doi: 10.1128/jb.171.4.2042-2048.1989

Defects in motility and development of Myxococcus xanthus lipopolysaccharide mutants.

J M Fink 1, J F Zissler 1
PMCID: PMC209855  PMID: 2495270

Abstract

Five transposon Tn5 mutants of the procaryote Myxococcus xanthus had been shown previously to be defective in lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis (J. M. Fink,-M. Kalos, and J. F. Zissler, J. Bacteriol. 171:2033-2041, 1989). These mutants were studied for possible defects in gliding motility and multicellular development. Wild-type M. xanthus cells glide both as single cells and as groups of cells. We found that the Tn5 lipopolysaccharide O-antigen mutants were defective in single-cell motility but were unaltered in group motility. These mutant strains were slow to develop but eventually gave rise to normal, spore-filled fruiting bodies. We also had shown previously that 56 (ethyl methanesulfonate-induced and spontaneous) phage-resistant mutants were defective in lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis. We found that many of these lipopolysaccharide O-antigen mutants were defective in single-cell motility but were unaltered in group motility. These mutants also gave rise to normal, spore-filled fruiting bodies. We also studied several phage-resistant mutants which were lacking a side-chain carbohydrate on the lipopolysaccharide core. These mutants possessed both single-cell motility and group motility but were altered in the magnitude of gliding. These mutants were blocked early in development and could not form multicellular fruiting bodies. Several of the mutations in the developmentally aberrant strains were mapped to a single locus by using a collection of genetically linked transposons as genetic markers.

Full text

PDF
2042

Images in this article

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Blackhart B. D., Zusman D. R. "Frizzy" genes of Myxococcus xanthus are involved in control of frequency of reversal of gliding motility. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1985 Dec;82(24):8767–8770. doi: 10.1073/pnas.82.24.8767. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Blackhart B. D., Zusman D. R. Cloning and complementation analysis of the "Frizzy" genes of Myxococcus xanthus. Mol Gen Genet. 1985;198(2):243–254. doi: 10.1007/BF00383002. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Burchard R. P. Gliding motility of prokaryotes: ultrastructure, physiology, and genetics. Annu Rev Microbiol. 1981;35:497–529. doi: 10.1146/annurev.mi.35.100181.002433. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Fink J. M., Kalos M., Zissler J. F. Isolation of cell surface antigen mutants of Myxococcus xanthus by use of monoclonal antibodies. J Bacteriol. 1989 Apr;171(4):2033–2041. doi: 10.1128/jb.171.4.2033-2041.1989. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Fink J. M., Zissler J. F. Characterization of lipopolysaccharide from Myxococcus xanthus by use of monoclonal antibodies. J Bacteriol. 1989 Apr;171(4):2028–2032. doi: 10.1128/jb.171.4.2028-2032.1989. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Gill J. S., Dworkin M. Cell surface antigens during submerged development of Myxococcus xanthus examined with monoclonal antibodies. J Bacteriol. 1986 Nov;168(2):505–511. doi: 10.1128/jb.168.2.505-511.1986. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Gill J. S., Jarvis B. W., Dworkin M. Inhibition of development in Myxococcus xanthus by monoclonal antibody 1604. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1987 Jul;84(13):4505–4508. doi: 10.1073/pnas.84.13.4505. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Hagen D. C., Bretscher A. P., Kaiser D. Synergism between morphogenetic mutants of Myxococcus xanthus. Dev Biol. 1978 Jun;64(2):284–296. doi: 10.1016/0012-1606(78)90079-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Hodgkin J., Kaiser D. Cell-to-cell stimulation of movement in nonmotile mutants of Myxococcus. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1977 Jul;74(7):2938–2942. doi: 10.1073/pnas.74.7.2938. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Shimkets L. J. Correlation of energy-dependent cell cohesion with social motility in Myxococcus xanthus. J Bacteriol. 1986 Jun;166(3):837–841. doi: 10.1128/jb.166.3.837-841.1986. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Vasquez G. M., Qualls F., White D. Morphogenesis of Stigmatella aurantiaca fruiting bodies. J Bacteriol. 1985 Aug;163(2):515–521. doi: 10.1128/jb.163.2.515-521.1985. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Bacteriology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES