Dataset Information

"Frizzy" aggregation genes of the gliding bacterium Myxococcus xanthus show sequence similarities to the chemotaxis genes of enteric bacteria.

ABSTRACT: The frz genes of Myxococcus xanthus are necessary for proper aggregation of cells to form fruiting bodies. Mutations in the frz genes affect the frequency with which individual cells reverse their direction of movement. We have subcloned and determined the nucleotide sequence of three of the frz genes. From the sequence we predict three open reading frames corresponding to frzA, frzB, and frzCD. The putative FrzA protein (17,094 Da) exhibits 28.1% amino acid identity with the CheW protein of Salmonella typhimurium. The putative FrzCD protein (43,571 Da) contains a region of about 250 amino acids which is similar to the C-terminal portions of the methyl-accepting chemotaxis receptor proteins of the enteric bacteria. FrzCD also contains a region with potentially significant similarity to the DNA-binding region of the Bacillus subtilis sigma 43. The putative FrzB protein (12,066 Da) shares no significant identity with known chemotaxis proteins. The sequence similarities between the putative Frz proteins and the chemotaxis proteins of the enteric bacteria strongly support the hypothesis that the frz genes define a system of signal transduction analogous to the enterobacterial chemotaxis systems.

SUBMITTER: McBride MJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC286482 | biostudies-other | 1989 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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"Frizzy" aggregation genes of the gliding bacterium Myxococcus xanthus show sequence similarities to the chemotaxis genes of enteric bacteria.

McBride M J MJ Weinberg R A RA Zusman D R DR

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 19890101 2

The frz genes of Myxococcus xanthus are necessary for proper aggregation of cells to form fruiting bodies. Mutations in the frz genes affect the frequency with which individual cells reverse their direction of movement. We have subcloned and determined the nucleotide sequence of three of the frz genes. From the sequence we predict three open reading frames corresponding to frzA, frzB, and frzCD. The putative FrzA protein (17,094 Da) exhibits 28.1% amino acid identity with the CheW protein of Sal ...[more]

PMID: 2492105

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Project description:Myxococcus xanthus is a gram-negative bacterium which has a complex life cycle. Autochemotaxis, a process whereby cells release a self-generated signaling molecule, may be the principal mechanism facilitating directed motility in both the vegetative swarming and developmental aggregation stages of this life cycle. The process requires the Frz signal transduction system, including FrzZ, a protein which is composed of two domains, both showing homology to the enteric chemotaxis response regulator CheY. The first domain of FrzZ (FrzZ1), when expressed as bait in the yeast two-hybrid system and screened against a library, was shown to potentially interact with the C-terminal portion of a protein encoding an ATP-binding cassette (AbcA). The activation domain-AbcA fusion protein did not interact with the second domain of FrzZ (FrzZ2) or with two other M. xanthus response regulator-containing proteins presented as bait, suggesting that the FrzZ1-AbcA interaction may be specific. Cloning and sequencing of the upstream region of the abcA gene showed the ATP-binding cassette to be linked to a large hydrophobic, potentially membrane-spanning domain. This domain organization is characteristic of a subgroup of ABC transporters which perform export functions. Cloning and sequencing downstream of abcA indicated that the ABC transporter is at the start of an operon containing three open reading frames. An insertion mutation in the abcA gene resulted in cells displaying the frizzy aggregation phenotype, providing additional evidence that FrzZ and AbcA may be part of the same signal transduction pathway. Cells with mutations in genes downstream of abcA showed no developmental defects. Analysis of the proposed exporter role of AbcA in cell mixing experiments showed that the ABC transporter mutant could be rescued by extracellular complementation. We speculate that the AbcA protein may be involved in the export of a molecule required for the autochemotactic process.

Dataset Information

"Frizzy" aggregation genes of the gliding bacterium Myxococcus xanthus show sequence similarities to the chemotaxis genes of enteric bacteria.

Publications

"Frizzy" aggregation genes of the gliding bacterium Myxococcus xanthus show sequence similarities to the chemotaxis genes of enteric bacteria.

Similar Datasets

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