J. Bacteriol., Nov 1996, 6647-6649, Vol 178, No. 22
Copyright © 1996, American Society for Microbiology

Effects of overexpression of Pkn2, a transmembrane protein serine/threonine kinase, on development of Myxococcus xanthus

H Udo, M Inouye and S Inouye
Department of Biochemistry, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, USA.

Pkn2 is a putative transmembrane protein serine/threonine kinase required for normal development of Myxococcus xanthus. The effect of Pkn2 overexpression on development of M. xanthus was examined by expressing pkn2 under the control of a kanamycin promoter. Pkn2 was clearly detected by Western blot (immunoblot) analysis in the overexpression strain (the PKm/pkn2 strain) but could not be detected in the wild-type strain. Overexpressed Pkn2 was located almost exclusively in the membrane fraction, suggesting that Pkn2 is a transmembrane receptor-type protein Ser/Thr kinase. The PKm/pkn2 strain formed fruiting bodies more slowly than the wild-type strain, in contrast to a Pkn2 deletion strain, the delta pkn2 strain, which developed faster than the wild-type strain. However, spore production was reduced in both the PKm/pkn2 and delta pkn2 strains. These data suggest that Pkn2 functions as a negative regulator for fruiting-body formation and that the proper level of Pkn2 is necessary for maximum myxospore yield.

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