Ribonuclease D Processes a Small RNA Regulator of Multicellular Development in Myxobacteria.

By targeting mRNA transcripts, non-coding small RNAs (sRNAs) regulate the expression of genes governing a wide range of bacterial functions. In the social myxobacterium , the sRNA Pxr serves as a gatekeeper of the regulatory pathway controlling the life-cycle transition from vegetative growth to multicellular fruiting body development. When nutrients are abundant, Pxr prevents the initiation of the developmental program, but Pxr-mediated inhibition is alleviated when cells starve.

Kin discrimination and outer membrane exchange in Myxococcus xanthus: Experimental analysis of a natural population.

In some species of myxobacteria, adjacent cells sufficiently similar at the adhesin protein TraA can exchange components of their outer membranes. The primary benefits of such outer membrane exchange (OME) in natural populations are unclear, but in some OME interactions, transferred OM content can include SitA toxins that kill OME participants lacking an appropriate immunity gene. Such OME-dependent toxin transfer across Myxococcus xanthus strains that differ only in their sitBAI toxin/antitoxin cassette can mediate inter-strain killing and generate colony-merger incompatibilities (CMIs)-inter-colony border phenotypes between distinct genotypes that differ from respective self-self colony interfaces.