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Journal of Bacteriology, December 2007, p. 9126-9130, Vol. 189, No. 24
0021-9193/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.01008-07
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Spatial Organization of Myxococcus xanthus during Fruiting Body Formation{triangledown} ,{dagger}

Patrick D. Curtis,1 Rion G. Taylor,2 Roy D. Welch,2 and Lawrence J. Shimkets1*

Department of Microbiology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602,1 Department of Biology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York 132442

Received 25 June 2007/ Accepted 25 September 2007

Microcinematography was used to examine fruiting body development of Myxococcus xanthus. Wild-type cells progress through three distinct phases: a quiescent phase with some motility but little aggregation (0 to 8 h), a period of vigorous motility leading to raised fruiting bodies (8 to 16 h), and a period of maturation during which sporulation is initiated (16 to 48 h). Fruiting bodies are extended vertically in a series of tiers, each involving the addition of a cell monolayer on top of the uppermost layer. A pilA (MXAN_5783) mutant produced less extracellular matrix material and thus allowed closer examination of tiered aggregate formation. A csgA (MXAN_1294) mutant exhibited no quiescent phase, aberrant aggregation in phase 2, and disintegration of the fruiting bodies in the third phase.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Microbiology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602. Phone: (706) 542-2681. Fax: (706) 542-2674. E-mail: shimkets{at}uga.edu

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 5 October 2007.

{dagger} Supplemental material for this article may be found at http://jb.asm.org/.

Journal of Bacteriology, December 2007, p. 9126-9130, Vol. 189, No. 24
0021-9193/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.01008-07
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Taylor, R. G., Welch, R. D. (2008). Chemotaxis as an Emergent Property of a Swarm. J. Bacteriol. 190: 6811-6816 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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