title: C-factor: a cell-cell signaling protein required for fruiting body morphogenesis of M. xanthus.
abstract: During fruiting body development, the product of the csgA gene is necessary for cellular aggregation, for spore differentiation, and for gene expression that is initiated after 6 hr of starvation. From nascent wild-type fruiting bodies we have purified a polypeptide of 17 kd called C-factor, which, at approximately 1 to 2 nM, restores normal development to csgA mutant cells. C-factor activity is not recovered from extracts of unstarved, growing cells or csgA mutant cells. The amino acid sequence from purified C-factor demonstrates that it is the product of the csgA gene. C-factor is active over a narrow range of concentration and has properties of a morphogenetic paracrine signal.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Stanford University School of Medicine, California 94305.
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kaiser
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D005838:Genotype; D007700:Kinetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D008970:Molecular Weight; D009024:Morphogenesis; D009154:Mutation; D009231:Myxococcales / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; C063576:CsgA protein, Myxococcus xanthus