10.5061/DRYAD.JSXKSN0B0
Eisner, Sabrina A.
0000-0001-7065-4569
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich
Velicer, Gregory J.
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich
Yu, Yuen-Tsu N.
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich
Mutation of rpoB shifts the nutrient threshold triggering Myxococcus
multicellular development
Dryad
dataset
2021
FOS: Biological sciences
2022-02-10T00:00:00Z
2022-02-10T00:00:00Z
en
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.817080
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6039662
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6039666
1749309 bytes
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CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
The ability to perceive and respond to environmental change is essential
to all organisms. In response to nutrient depletion, cells of the
soil-dwelling δ-proteobacterium Myxococcus xanthus undergo collective
morphogenesis into multicellular fruiting bodies and transform into
stress-resistant spores. This process is strictly regulated by gene
networks that incorporate both inter- and intracellular signals. While
commonly studied M. xanthus reference strains and some natural isolates
undergo development only in nutrient-poor conditions, some lab mutants and
other natural isolates commit to development at much higher nutrient
levels, but mechanisms enabling such rich-medium development remain
elusive. Here we investigate the genetic basis of rich-medium development
in one mutant and find that a single amino-acid change (S534L) in RpoB,
the β-subunit of RNA polymerase, is responsible for the phenotype. Ectopic
expression of the mutant rpoB allele was sufficient to induce
nutrient-rich development. These results suggest that the universal
bacterial transcription machinery bearing the altered β-subunit can relax
regulation of developmental genes that are normally strictly controlled by
the bacterial stringent response. Moreover, the mutation also
pleiotropically mediates a tradeoff in fitness during vegetative growth
between high vs low nutrient conditions and generates resistance to
exploitation by a developmental cheater. Our findings reveal a previously
unknown connection between the universal transcription machinery and one
of the most behaviorally complex responses to environmental stress found
among bacteria.