Cover photograph (Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.): The gram-negative, soil-dwelling microbe Myxococcus xanthus is capable of coordinated aggregation into clusters of cells called fruiting bodies. Inside these aggregates bacillus-shaped vegetative cells become coccus-shaped spores. Shown is a false-colored, scanning electron micrograph of an aerial view of a 5-day-old fruiting body on starvation agar. Spores appear to be covered in a gossamer-like sheet that is ripped in several places. Magnification, ×1,100. (See related article on page 3187.)
[Table of Contents]