Dataset Information

Bacillaene and sporulation protect Bacillus subtilis from predation by Myxococcus xanthus.

ABSTRACT: Myxococcus xanthus and Bacillus subtilis are common soil-dwelling bacteria that produce a wide range of secondary metabolites and sporulate under nutrient-limiting conditions. Both organisms affect the composition and dynamics of microbial communities in the soil. However, M. xanthus is known to be a predator, while B. subtilis is not. A screen of various prey led to the finding that M. xanthus is capable of consuming laboratory strains of B. subtilis, while the ancestral strain, NCIB3610, was resistant to predation. Based in part on recent characterization of several strains of B. subtilis, we were able to determine that the pks gene cluster, which is required for production of bacillaene, is the major factor allowing B. subtilis NCIB3610 cells to resist predation by M. xanthus. Furthermore, purified bacillaene was added exogenously to domesticated strains, resulting in resistance to predation. Lastly, we found that M. xanthus is incapable of consuming B. subtilis spores even from laboratory strains, indicating the evolutionary fitness of sporulation as a survival strategy. Together, the results suggest that bacillaene inhibits M. xanthus predation, allowing sufficient time for development of B. subtilis spores.

SUBMITTER: Muller S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4178607 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Bacillaene and sporulation protect Bacillus subtilis from predation by Myxococcus xanthus.

Müller Susanne S Strack Sarah N SN Hoefler B Christopher BC Straight Paul D PD Kearns Daniel B DB Kirby John R JR

Applied and environmental microbiology 20140707 18

Myxococcus xanthus and Bacillus subtilis are common soil-dwelling bacteria that produce a wide range of secondary metabolites and sporulate under nutrient-limiting conditions. Both organisms affect the composition and dynamics of microbial communities in the soil. However, M. xanthus is known to be a predator, while B. subtilis is not. A screen of various prey led to the finding that M. xanthus is capable of consuming laboratory strains of B. subtilis, while the ancestral strain, NCIB3610, was r ...[more]

PMID: 25002419

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Project description:Myxococcus xanthus is a soil myxobacterium that exhibits a complex lifecycle with two multicellular stages: cooperative predation and development. During predation, myxobacterial cells produce a wide variety of secondary metabolites and hydrolytic enzymes to kill and consume the prey. It is known that eukaryotic predators, such as ameba and macrophages, introduce copper and other metals into the phagosomes to kill their prey by oxidative stress. However, the role of metals in bacterial predation has not yet been established. In this work, we have addressed the role of copper during predation of M. xanthus on Sinorhizobium meliloti. The use of biosensors, variable pressure scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy, and energy dispersive X ray analysis has revealed that copper accumulates in the region where predator and prey collide. This accumulation of metal up-regulates the expression of several mechanisms involved in copper detoxification in the predator (the P1 B-ATPase CopA, the multicopper oxidase CuoA and the tripartite pump Cus2), and the production by the prey of copper-inducible melanin, which is a polymer with the ability to protect cells from oxidative stress. We have identified two genes in S. meliloti (encoding a tyrosinase and a multicopper oxidase) that participate in the biosynthesis of melanin. Analysis of prey survivability in the co-culture of M. xanthus and a mutant of S. meliloti in which the two genes involved in melanin biosynthesis have been deleted has revealed that this mutant is more sensitive to predation than the wild-type strain. These results indicate that copper plays a role in bacterial predation and that melanin is used by the prey to defend itself from the predator. Taking into consideration that S. meliloti is a nitrogen-fixing bacterium in symbiosis with legumes that coexists in soils with M. xanthus and that copper is a common metal found in this habitat as a consequence of several human activities, these results provide clear evidence that the accumulation of this metal in the soil may influence the microbial ecosystems by affecting bacterial predatory activities.

Dataset Information

Bacillaene and sporulation protect Bacillus subtilis from predation by Myxococcus xanthus.

Publications

Bacillaene and sporulation protect Bacillus subtilis from predation by Myxococcus xanthus.

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