Regulating Developmental Gene Expression in Myxococcus Xanthus

Syracuse University, Syracuse NY

Investigators

Abstract

A fundamental goal of researches that study model systems for multicellular development in bacteria, is to understand how programmed changes in gene transcription guide the formation and maintenance of bacterial communities. Fruiting body formation in Myxococcus xanthus is the best characterized model for the genesis of the highly ordered community of cells that act in a concerted fashion rather than as a collection of individual cells. Previous work showed that NtrC-like activators play prominent roles in regulating changes in gene transcription during the development of fruiting bodies. This project focuses on two of these activator proteins, Nla6 and Nla28. The long-term goals of this project are to determine how Nla6 and Nla28 identify their target developmental genes, to determine the functions of these target genes, and to characterize the signal transduction systems that activate Nla6 and Nla28. These studies will help test the hypothesis that M. xanthus coordinates changes in developmental gene transcription by using a series of NtrC-like activators to turn on specific sets of genes at specific stages during the developmental formation of the fruiting body structure. On a broader scale, these studies will provide important information about the intimate relationship between changes in gene transcription, and the formation and maintenance of bacterial communities. The project will support and train graduate and undergraduate students and will be integrated into university activities for the recruitment and training of students from minority backgrounds.