RUI: Light-controlled Morphogenesis in Early Development of Myxobacteria

Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago IL

Investigators

Abstract

Many living organisms sense and respond to light, primarily through a large family of proteins known as photoreceptors. This Research in Undergraduate Institutions proposal will provide insights into fundamental, light-induced mechanisms in biological systems by addressing the role of photoreceptors in unique microorganisms, the myxobacteria, which are distinguished by unusual light-controlled morphogenesis of fruiting bodies. This project will advance the understanding of microbial light perception and the evolution of photoreceptors, engaging undergraduate and Master's level students (including members of groups under-represented in science) in interdisciplinary research in microbial genetics, spectroscopy and structural biology. This project addresses the physiological role of red-light photoreceptors known as bacteriophytochromes in the non-photosynthetic myxobacteria Stigmatella aurantiaca and Cystobacter fuscus which form fruiting bodies under starvation conditions. Fruiting bodies are markedly stimulated by red and blue light but the exact role of the bacteriophytochromes that are encoded in the genomes of these species in controlling morphogenesis is unknown. This project will investigate the role of bacteriophytochromes through integrated studies of myxobacterial genetics, high-throughput RNA sequence analysis, time-resolved spectroscopy, and elucidation of bacteriophytochrome structures by X-ray crystallography.