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Journal of Bacteriology, December 1998, p. 6215-6223, Vol. 180, No. 23
0021-9193/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Myxococcus xanthus sasN Encodes a Regulator That Prevents Developmental Gene Expression during Growth

Di Xu, Chun Yang, and Heidi B. Kaplan*

Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, The University of Texas Medical School, Houston, Texas 77030

Received 13 August 1998/Accepted 1 October 1998

Myxococcus xanthus multicellular fruiting body development is initiated by nutrient limitation at high cell density. Five clustered point mutations (sasB5, -14, -15, -16, and -17) can bypass the starvation and high-cell-density requirements for expression of the 4521 developmental reporter gene. These mutants express 4521 at high levels during growth and development in an asgB background, which is defective in generation of the cell density signal, A signal. A 1.3-kb region of the sasB locus cloned from the wild-type chromosome restored the SasB+ phenotype to the five mutants. DNA sequence analysis of the 1.3-kb region predicted an open reading frame, designated SasN. The N terminus of SasN appears to contain a strongly hydrophobic region and a leucine zipper motif. SasN showed no significant sequence similarities to known proteins. A strain containing a newly constructed sasN-null mutation and Omega 4521 Tn5lac in an otherwise wild-type background expressed 4521 at a high level during growth and development. A similar sasN-null mutant formed abnormal fruiting bodies and sporulated at about 10% the level of wild type. These data indicate that the wild-type sasN gene product is necessary for normal M. xanthus fruiting body development and functions as a critical regulator that prevents 4521 expression during growth.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, The University of Texas Medical School, 6431 Fannin, 1.765 JFB, Houston, TX 77030. Phone: (713) 500-5448. Fax: (713) 500-5499. E-mail: hkaplan{at}utmmg.med.uth.tmc.edu.

Journal of Bacteriology, December 1998, p. 6215-6223, Vol. 180, No. 23
0021-9193/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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