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Overview
S-motility & development (Yvonne Cheng)
tgl, pilQ and S motility (Eric Nudleman)
Rippling (Roy Welch, Dale Kaiser)
sigma-54 activators (Thomas Gronewold)
devTRS (Anthony Garza)
Sporulation (Jimmy Jakobsen)
sigma-54 activators (Lisa Gorski)
devTRS (Bryan Julien)
sigma-54 and Tn5-lac 4521 (Ingrid Keseler)
Pili and social motility (Samuel Wu)
tgl, pilQ and S motility (Dan Wall)
Overview
How are genes regulated during development? What determines the sequence of events in a developmental program? How are genes regulated from outside cells so there can be cell-cell interactions necessary to coordinate multicellular development? The approach taken by our laboratory group to answer these questions utilizes biochemistry and genetics; genetics to isolate mutants that have particular defects in development and biochemistry to determine the molecular basis of the defects.
We study fruiting body development in Myxococcus xanthus. When starved, these bacteria form fruiting bodies, which contain about 100,000 spore cells and which have a species-specific shape. Fruiting bodies form through a regular sequence of morphological changes, finishing with the differentiation of rod-shaped growing cells into spherical, thick-walled spores. Biochemical changes parallel the morphological changes. New proteins are synthesized at particular times during aggregation and sporulation. A series of 30 developmentally regulated promoters have been found, each of which becomes active at a characteristic time.
Mutants that have lost the ability to produce extracellular signals necessary for development have been isolated. These mutants are being used to dissect the genetic program and to isolate and identify the signals. Mutants defective in cell movement are being used to analyze the link between multicellular morphogenesis and gene expression.
We are also interested in the role of gliding motility in the developmental process. While the mechanism of gliding motility in M. xanthus remains uncertain, we have been able to study how motility is controlled in vegetative cells. In development, motility not only enables aggregation, but also is required for proper signal transduction and the production of a wave-like "rippling" morphology under certain developmental conditions.