The Myxococcus xanthus two-component system CorSR regulates expression of a gene cluster involved in maintaining copper tolerance during growth and development.

ABSTRACT: Myxococcus xanthus is a soil-dwelling member of the δ-Proteobacteria that exhibits a complex developmental cycle upon starvation. Development comprises aggregation and differentiation into environmentally resistant myxospores in an environment that includes fluctuations in metal ion concentrations. While copper is essential for M. xanthus cells because several housekeeping enzymes use it as a cofactor, high copper concentrations are toxic. These opposing effects force cells to maintain a tight copper homeostasis. A plethora of paralogous genes involved in copper detoxification, all of which are differentially regulated, have been reported in M. xanthus. The use of in-frame deletion mutants and fusions with the reporter gene lacZ has allowed the identification of a two-component system, Cor

SUBMITTER: Sanchez-Sutil MC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3707914 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature