title: Localization of a bacterial cytoplasmic receptor is dynamic and changes with cell-cell contacts.
abstract: Directional motility in the gliding bacterium Myxococcus xanthus requires controlled cell reversals mediated by the Frz chemosensory system. FrzCD, a cytoplasmic chemoreceptor, does not form membrane-bound polar clusters typical for most bacteria, but rather cytoplasmic clusters that appear helically arranged and span the cell length. The distribution of FrzCD in living cells was found to be dynamic: FrzCD was localized in clusters that continuously changed their size, number, and position. The number of FrzCD clusters was correlated with cellular reversal frequency: fewer clusters were observed in hypo-reversing mutants and additional clusters were observed in hyper-reversing mutants. When moving cells made side-to-side contacts, FrzCD clusters in adjacent cells showed transient alignments. These events were frequently followed by one of the interacting cells reversing. These observations suggest that FrzCD detects signals from a cell contact-sensitive signaling system and then re-localizes as it directs reversals to distributed motility engines.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
authors.forename: Emilia M F
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Mauriello
authors.forename: David P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Astling
authors.forename: Oleksii
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Sliusarenko
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Zusman
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000378:metabolism*; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D016941:Myxococcus xanthus / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D021381:Protein Transport; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000378:metabolism*; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; C065626:FrzCD protein, Myxococcus xanthus; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins