Phase variation in Myxococcus xanthus yields cells specialized for iron sequestration.

Myxococcus xanthus undergoes phase variation during growth to produce predominantly two colony phenotypes. The majority are yellow colonies containing swarm-proficient cells and a minority are tan colonies containing swarm-deficient cells. Comparison of the transcriptomes of a yellow variant, a tan variant, and three tan mutants led to the identification of differentially-regulated genes that define key segments of the phase variation pathway.

MasABK proteins interact with proteins of the type IV pilin system to affect social motility of Myxococcus xanthus.

Gliding motility is critical for normal development of spore-filled fruiting bodies in the soil bacterium Myxococcus xanthus. Mutations in mgl block motility and development but one mgl allele can be suppressed by a mutation in masK, the last gene in an operon adjacent to the mgl operon. Deletion of the entire 5.

Global analysis of phase variation in Myxococcus xanthus.

Myxococcus xanthus can vary its phenotype or 'phase' to produce colonies that contain predominantly yellow or tan cells that differ greatly in their abilities to swarm, survive and develop. Yellow variants are proficient at swarming (++) and tend to lyse in liquid during stationary phase. In contrast, tan variants are deficient in swarming (+) and persist beyond stationary phase.

Localization of MglA, an essential gliding motility protein in Myxococcus xanthus.

MglA, a 22-kDa protein related to monomeric GTPases, is required for the normal operation of the A (Adventurous) and S (Social) motility and for multicellular development of Myxococcus xanthus. To determine how MglA controls A- and S-motility, MglA was assayed biochemically and its cellular location was determined. His-tagged MglA hydrolyzed GTP slowly in vitro at a rate nearly identical to that of Ras showing that MglA has GTPase activity.

Biphasic intracellular expression of Staphylococcus aureus virulence factors and evidence for Agr-mediated diffusion sensing.

Staphylococcus aureus invades a variety of mammalian cells and escapes from the endosome to multiply in the cytoplasm. We had previously hypothesized that the molecular events leading to escape of S. aureus from the endosome involved the Agr virulence factor regulatory system.