BrgE is a regulator of Myxococcus xanthus development

Mol Microbiol. 2005 Aug;57(3):762-73. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.2005.04726.x.

Abstract

We report here the identification and characterization of a member of the Myxococcus xanthus SdeK signal transduction pathway, BrgE. This protein was identified as an SdeK-interacting component using a yeast two-hybrid screen, and we further confirmed this interaction by the glutathione S-transferase (GST) pulldown assay. Additional yeast two-hybrid analyses revealed that BrgE preferentially interacts with the putative amino-terminal sensor domain of SdeK, but not with the carboxy-terminal kinase domain. A brgE insertion strain was shown to be blocked in development between aggregation and mound formation, and decreased by 50-fold in viable spore production compared with the parental wild type. These phenotypes are similar to those of sdeK mutants. The brgE mutation also altered expression of a sample of Tn5 lac developmental markers that are also SdeK regulated. Finally, we demonstrated that a brgE sdeK double mutant has a more severe sporulation defect than either of the two single mutants, suggesting that BrgE and SdeK act synergistically to regulate wild-type levels of sporulation. In sum, these data suggest that BrgE operates as an auxiliary factor to stimulate the SdeK signal transduction pathway by directly binding to the amino-terminal sensor domain of SdeK.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Bacterial Proteins / genetics
  • Bacterial Proteins / metabolism*
  • Culture Media
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial*
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Mutation
  • Myxococcus xanthus / genetics
  • Myxococcus xanthus / growth & development*
  • Myxococcus xanthus / metabolism
  • Myxococcus xanthus / physiology
  • Signal Transduction*
  • Spores, Bacterial / growth & development
  • Two-Hybrid System Techniques

Substances

  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Culture Media
  • SdeK protein, Myxococcus xanthus