PlpA, a PilZ-like protein, regulates directed motility of the bacterium Myxococcus xanthus

A lytic transglycosylase connects bacterial focal adhesion complexes to the peptidoglycan cell wall

The Gram-negative bacterium Myxococcus xanthus glides on solid surfaces. Dynamic bacterial focal adhesion complexes (bFACs) convert proton motive force from the inner membrane into mechanical propulsion on the cell surface. It is unclear how the mechanical force transmits across the rigid peptidoglycan (PG) cell wall. Here we show that AgmT, a highly abundant lytic PG transglycosylase homologous to Escherichia coli MltG, couples bFACs to PG. Coprecipitation assay and single-particle microscopy reveal that the gliding motors fail to connect to PG and thus are unable to assemble into bFACs in the absence of an active AgmT. Heterologous expression of E. coli MltG restores the connection between PG and bFACs and thus rescues gliding motility in the M. xanthus cells that lack AgmT. Our results indicate that bFACs anchor to AgmT-modified PG to transmit mechanical force across the PG cell wall.

Myxococcus xanthus PilB interacts with c-di-GMP and modulates motility and biofilm formation

The regulation of biofilm and motile states as alternate bacterial lifestyles has been studied extensively in flagellated bacteria, where the second messenger cyclic-di-GMP (cdG) plays a crucial role. However, much less is known about the mechanisms of such regulation in motile bacteria without flagella. The bacterial type IV pilus (T4P) serves as a motility apparatus that enables Myxococcus xanthus to move on solid surfaces. PilB, the T4P assembly ATPase, is, therefore, required for T4P-dependent motility in M. xanthus. Interestingly, T4P is also involved in the regulation of exopolysaccharide as the biofilm matrix material in this bacterium. A newly discovered cdG-binding domain, MshEN, is conserved in the N-terminus of PilB (PilBN) in M. xanthus and other bacteria. This suggests that cdG may bind to PilB to control the respective outputs that regulate biofilm development and T4P-powered motility. In this study, we aimed to validate M. xanthus PilB as a cdG effector protein. We performed a systematic mutational analysis of its cdG-binding domain to investigate its relationship with motility, piliation, and biofilm formation. Excluding those resulting in low levels of PilB protein, all other substitution mutations in PilBN resulted in pilB mutants with distinct and differential phenotypes in piliation and biofilm levels in M. xanthus. This suggests that the PilBN domain plays dual roles in modulating motility and biofilm levels, and these two functions of PilB can be dependent on and independent of each other in M. xanthus. IMPORTANCE The regulation of motility and biofilm by cyclic-di-GMP in flagellated bacteria has been extensively investigated. However, our knowledge regarding this regulation in motile bacteria without flagella remains limited. Here, we aimed to address this gap by investigating a non-flagellated bacterium with motility powered by bacterial type-IV pilus (T4P). Previous studies hinted at the possibility of Myxococcus xanthus PilB, the T4P assembly ATPase, serving as a cyclic-di-GMP effector involved in regulating both motility and biofilm. Our findings strongly support the hypothesis that PilB directly interacts with cyclic-di-GMP to act as a potential switch to promote biofilm formation or T4P-dependent motility. These results shed light on the bifurcation of PilB functions and its pivotal role in coordinating biofilm formation and T4P-mediated motility.

Coordinated peptidoglycan synthases and hydrolases stabilize the bacterial cell wall

Peptidoglycan (PG) defines cell shape and protects bacteria against osmotic stress. The growth and integrity of PG require coordinated actions between synthases that insert new PG strands and hydrolases that generate openings to allow the insertion. However, the mechanisms of their coordination remain elusive. Moenomycin that inhibits a family of PG synthases known as Class-A penicillin-binding proteins (aPBPs), collapses rod shape despite aPBPs being non-essential for rod-like morphology in the bacterium Myxococcus xanthus. Here, we demonstrate that inhibited PBP1a2, an aPBP, accelerates the degradation of cell poles by DacB, a hydrolytic PG peptidase. Moenomycin promotes the binding between DacB and PG and thus reduces the mobility of DacB through PBP1a2. Conversely, DacB also regulates the distribution and dynamics of aPBPs. Our findings clarify the action of moenomycin and suggest that disrupting the coordination between PG synthases and hydrolases could be more lethal than eliminating individual enzymes.

Unorthodox regulation of the MglA Ras-like GTPase controlling polarity in Myxococcus xanthus

Motile cells have developed a large array of molecular machineries to actively change their direction of movement in response to spatial cues from their environment. In this process, small GTPases act as molecular switches and work in tandem with regulators and sensors of their guanine nucleotide status (GAP, GEF, GDI and effectors) to dynamically polarize the cell and regulate its motility. In this review, we focus on Myxococcus xanthus as a model organism to elucidate the function of an atypical small Ras GTPase system in the control of directed cell motility. M. xanthus cells direct their motility by reversing their direction of movement through a mechanism involving the redirection of the motility apparatus to the opposite cell pole. The reversal frequency of moving M. xanthus cells is controlled by modular and interconnected protein networks linking the chemosensory-like frizzy (Frz) pathway - that transmits environmental signals - to the downstream Ras-like Mgl polarity control system - that comprises the Ras-like MglA GTPase protein and its regulators. Here, we discuss how variations in the GTPase interactome landscape underlie single-cell decisions and consequently, multicellular patterns.

Emergent Myxobacterial Behaviors Arise from Reversal Suppression Induced by Kin Contacts

A wide range of biological systems, from microbial swarms to bird flocks, display emergent behaviors driven by coordinated movement of individuals. To this end, individual organisms interact by recognizing their kin and adjusting their motility based on others around them. However, even in the best-studied systems, the mechanistic basis of the interplay between kin recognition and motility coordination is not understood. Here, using a combination of experiments and mathematical modeling, we uncover the mechanism of an emergent social behavior in Myxococcus xanthus. By overexpressing the cell surface adhesins TraA and TraB, which are involved in kin recognition, large numbers of cells adhere to one another and form organized macroscopic circular aggregates that spin clockwise or counterclockwise. Mechanistically, TraAB adhesion results in sustained cell-cell contacts that trigger cells to suppress cell reversals, and circular aggregates form as the result of cells’ ability to follow their own cellular slime trails. Furthermore, our in silico simulations demonstrate a remarkable ability to predict self-organization patterns when phenotypically distinct strains are mixed. For example, defying naive expectations, both models and experiments found that strains engineered to overexpress different and incompatible TraAB adhesins nevertheless form mixed circular aggregates. Therefore, this work provides key mechanistic insights into M. xanthus social interactions and demonstrates how local cell contacts induce emergent collective behaviors by millions of cells.

IMPORTANCE In many species, large populations exhibit emergent behaviors whereby all related individuals move in unison. For example, fish in schools can all dart in one direction simultaneously to avoid a predator. Currently, it is impossible to explain how such animals recognize kin through brain cognition and elicit such behaviors at a molecular level. However, microbes also recognize kin and exhibit emergent collective behaviors that are experimentally tractable. Here, using a model social bacterium, we engineer dispersed individuals to organize into synchronized collectives that create emergent patterns. With experimental and mathematical approaches, we explain how this occurs at both molecular and population levels. The results demonstrate how the combination of local physical interactions triggers intracellular signaling, which in turn leads to emergent behaviors on a population scale.

Three PilZ Domain Proteins, PlpA, PixA, and PixB, Have Distinct Functions in Regulation of Motility and Development in Myxococcus xanthus

In bacteria, the nucleotide-based second messenger bis-(3'-5')-cyclic dimeric GMP (c-di-GMP) binds to effectors to generate outputs in response to changes in the environment. In Myxococcus xanthus, c-di-GMP regulates type IV pilus-dependent motility and the starvation-induced developmental program that results in formation of spore-filled fruiting bodies; however, little is known about the effectors that bind c-di-GMP. Here, we systematically inactivated all 24 genes encoding PilZ domain-containing proteins, which are among the most common c-di-GMP effectors. We confirm that the stand-alone PilZ domain protein PlpA is important for regulation of motility independently of the Frz chemosensory system and that Pkn1, which is composed of a Ser/Thr kinase domain and a PilZ domain, is specifically important for development. Moreover, we identify two PilZ domain proteins that have distinct functions in regulating motility and development. PixB, which is composed of two PilZ domains and an acetyltransferase domain, binds c-di-GMP in vitro and regulates type IV pilus-dependent and gliding motility in a Frz-dependent manner as well as development. The acetyltransferase domain is required and sufficient for function during growth, while all three domains and c-di-GMP binding are essential for PixB function during development. PixA is a response regulator composed of a PilZ domain and a receiver domain, binds c-di-GMP in vitro, and regulates motility independently of the Frz system, likely by setting up the polarity of the two motility systems. Our results support a model whereby PlpA, PixA, and PixB act in independent pathways and have distinct functions in regulation of motility. IMPORTANCE c-di-GMP signaling controls bacterial motility in many bacterial species by binding to downstream effector proteins. Here, we identify two PilZ domain-containing proteins in Myxococcus xanthus that bind c-di-GMP. We show that PixB, which contains two PilZ domains and an acetyltransferase domain, acts in a manner that depends on the Frz chemosensory system to regulate motility via the acetyltransferase domain, while the intact protein and c-di-GMP binding are essential for PixB to support development. In contrast, PixA acts in a Frz-independent manner to regulate motility. Taking our results together with previous observations, we conclude that PilZ domain proteins and c-di-GMP act in multiple independent pathways to regulate motility and development in M. xanthus.

Myxococcus xanthus as a Model Organism for Peptidoglycan Assembly and Bacterial Morphogenesis

A fundamental question in biology is how cell shapes are genetically encoded and enzymatically generated. Prevalent shapes among walled bacteria include spheres and rods. These shapes are chiefly determined by the peptidoglycan (PG) cell wall. Bacterial division results in two daughter cells, whose shapes are predetermined by the mother. This makes it difficult to explore the origin of cell shapes in healthy bacteria. In this review, we argue that the Gram-negative bacterium Myxococcus xanthus is an ideal model for understanding PG assembly and bacterial morphogenesis, because it forms rods and spheres at different life stages. Rod-shaped vegetative cells of M. xanthus can thoroughly degrade their PG and form spherical spores. As these spores germinate, cells rebuild their PG and reestablish rod shape without preexisting templates. Such a unique sphere-to-rod transition provides a rare opportunity to visualize de novo PG assembly and rod-like morphogenesis in a well-established model organism.

CRP-Like Transcriptional Regulator MrpC Curbs c-di-GMP and 3',3'-cGAMP Nucleotide Levels during Development in Myxococcus xanthus

Myxococcus xanthus has a nutrient-regulated biphasic life cycle forming predatory swarms in the presence of nutrients and spore-filled fruiting bodies in the absence of nutrients. The second messenger 3'-5', 3'-5 cyclic di-GMP (c-di-GMP) is essential during both stages of the life cycle; however, different enzymes involved in c-di-GMP synthesis and degradation as well as several c-di-GMP receptors are important during distinct life cycle stages. To address this stage specificity, we determined transcript levels using transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) and transcription start sites using Cappable sequencing (Cappable-seq) during growth and development genome wide. All 70 genes encoding c-di-GMP-associated proteins were expressed, with 28 upregulated and 10 downregulated during development. Specifically, the three genes encoding enzymatically active proteins with a stage-specific function were expressed stage specifically. By combining operon mapping with published chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq) data for MrpC (M. Robinson, B. Son, D. Kroos, L. Kroos, BMC Genomics 15:1123, 2014, http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2164-15-1123), the cAMP receptor protein (CRP)-like master regulator of development, we identified nine developmentally regulated genes as regulated by MrpC. In particular, MrpC directly represses the expression of dmxB, which encodes the diguanylate cyclase DmxB that is essential for development and responsible for the c-di-GMP increase during development. Moreover, MrpC directly activates the transcription of pmxA, which encodes a bifunctional phosphodiesterase that degrades c-di-GMP and 3',3'-cGAMP in vitro and is essential for development. Thereby, MrpC regulates and curbs the cellular pools of c-di-GMP and 3',3'-cGAMP during development. We conclude that temporal regulation of the synthesis of proteins involved in c-di-GMP metabolism contributes to c-di-GMP signaling specificity. MrpC is important for this regulation, thereby being a key regulator of developmental cyclic di-nucleotide metabolism in M. xanthus. IMPORTANCE The second messenger c-di-GMP is important during both stages of the nutrient-regulated biphasic life cycle of Myxococcus xanthus with the formation of predatory swarms in the presence of nutrients and spore-filled fruiting bodies in the absence of nutrients. However, different enzymes involved in c-di-GMP synthesis and degradation are important during distinct life cycle stages. Here, we show that the three genes encoding enzymatically active proteins with a stage-specific function are expressed stage specifically. Moreover, we find that the master transcriptional regulator of development MrpC directly regulates the expression of dmxB, which encodes the diguanylate cyclase DmxB that is essential for development, and of pmxA, which encodes a bifunctional phosphodiesterase that degrades c-di-GMP and 3',3'-cGAMP in vitro and is essential for development. We conclude that temporal regulation of the synthesis of proteins involved in c-di-GMP metabolism contributes to c-di-GMP signaling specificity and that MrpC plays an important role in this regulation.

Establishing rod shape from spherical, peptidoglycan-deficient bacterial spores

Chemical-induced spores of the Gram-negative bacterium Myxococcus xanthus are peptidoglycan (PG)-deficient. It is unclear how these spherical spores germinate into rod-shaped, walled cells without preexisting PG templates. We found that germinating spores first synthesize PG randomly on spherical surfaces. MglB, a GTPase-activating protein, forms a cluster that responds to the status of PG growth and stabilizes at one future cell pole. Following MglB, the Ras family GTPase MglA localizes to the second pole. MglA directs molecular motors to transport the bacterial actin homolog MreB and the Rod PG synthesis complexes away from poles. The Rod system establishes rod shape de novo by elongating PG at nonpolar regions. Thus, similar to eukaryotic cells, the interactions between GTPase, cytoskeletons, and molecular motors initiate spontaneous polarization in bacteria.

Three-Dimensional Observations of an Aperiodic Oscillatory Gliding Behavior in Myxococcus xanthus Using Confocal Interference Reflection Microscopy

3D imaging of live bacteria with optical microscopy techniques is a challenge due to the small size of bacterial cells, meaning that previous studies have been limited to observing motility behavior in 2D. We introduce the application of confocal multiwavelength interference reflection microscopy to bacteria, which enables visualization of 3D motility behaviors in a single 2D image. Using the model organism Myxococcus xanthus, we identified novel motility behaviors that are not explained by current motility models, where gliding bacteria exhibit aperiodic changes in their adhesion to an underlying solid surface. We concluded that the 3D behavior was not linked to canonical motility mechanisms and that IRM could be applied to study a range of microbiological specimens with minimal adaptation to a commercial microscope.

The deltaproteobacterium Myxococcus xanthus is a model for bacterial motility and has provided unprecedented insights into bacterial swarming behaviors. Fluorescence microscopy techniques have been invaluable in defining the mechanisms that are involved in gliding motility, but these have almost entirely been limited to two-dimensional (2D) studies, and there is currently no understanding of gliding motility in a three-dimensional (3D) context. We present here the first use of confocal interference reflection microscopy (IRM) to study gliding bacteria, revealing aperiodic oscillatory behavior with changes in the position of the basal membrane relative to the substrate on the order of 90 nm in vitro. First, we use a model planoconvex lens specimen to show how topological information can be obtained from the wavelength-dependent interference pattern in IRM. We then use IRM to observe gliding M. xanthus bacteria and show that cells undergo previously unobserved changes in their adhesion profile as they glide. We compare the wild type with mutants that have reduced motility, which also exhibit the same changes in the adhesion profile during gliding. We find that the general gliding behavior is independent of the proton motive force-generating complex AglRQS and suggest that the novel behavior that we present here may be a result of recoil and force transmission along the length of the cell body following firing of the type IV pili.

IMPORTANCE 3D imaging of live bacteria with optical microscopy techniques is a challenge due to the small size of bacterial cells, meaning that previous studies have been limited to observing motility behavior in 2D. We introduce the application of confocal multiwavelength interference reflection microscopy to bacteria, which enables visualization of 3D motility behaviors in a single 2D image. Using the model organism Myxococcus xanthus, we identified novel motility behaviors that are not explained by current motility models, where gliding bacteria exhibit aperiodic changes in their adhesion to an underlying solid surface. We concluded that the 3D behavior was not linked to canonical motility mechanisms and that IRM could be applied to study a range of microbiological specimens with minimal adaptation to a commercial microscope.

Dynamic polarity control by a tunable protein oscillator in bacteria

In bacteria, cell polarization involves the controlled targeting of specific proteins to the poles, defining polar identity and function. How a specific protein is targeted to one pole and what are the processes that facilitate its dynamic relocalization to the opposite pole is still unclear. The Myxococcus xanthus polarization example illustrates how the dynamic and asymmetric localization of polar proteins enable a controlled and fast switch of polarity. In M. xanthus, the opposing polar distribution of the small GTPase MglA and its cognate activating protein MglB defines the direction of movement of the cell. During a reversal event, the switch of direction is triggered by the Frz chemosensory system, which controls polarity reversals through a so-called gated relaxation oscillator. In this review, we discuss how this genetic architecture can provoke sharp behavioral transitions depending on Frz activation levels, which is central to multicellular behaviors in this bacterium.

A gated relaxation oscillator mediated by FrzX controls morphogenetic movements in Myxococcus xanthus

Dynamic control of cell polarity is of critical importance for many aspects of cellular development and motility. In Myxococcus xanthus, MglA, a G protein, and MglB, its cognate GTPase-activating protein, establish a polarity axis that defines the direction of movement of the cell and that can be rapidly inverted by the Frz chemosensory system. Although vital for collective cell behaviours, how Frz triggers this switch has remained unknown. Here, we use genetics, imaging and mathematical modelling to show that Frz controls polarity reversals via a gated relaxation oscillator. FrzX, which we identify as a target of the Frz kinase, provides the gating and thus acts as the trigger for reversals. Slow relocalization of the polarity protein RomR then creates a refractory period during which another switch cannot be triggered. A secondary Frz output, FrzZ, decreases this delay, allowing rapid reversals when required. Thus, this architecture results in a highly tuneable switch that allows a wide range of reversal frequencies.

MotAB-like machinery drives the movement of MreB filaments during bacterial gliding motility

MreB is a bacterial actin that is important for cell shape and cell wall biosynthesis in many bacterial species. MreB also plays crucial roles in Myxococcus xanthus gliding motility, but the underlying mechanism remains unknown. Here we tracked the dynamics of single MreB particles in M. xanthus using single-particle tracking photoactivated localization microscopy. We found that a subpopulation of MreB particles moves rapidly along helical trajectories, similar to the movements of the MotAB-like gliding motors. The rapid MreB motion was stalled in the mutants that carried truncated gliding motors. Remarkably, M. xanthus MreB moves one to two orders of magnitude faster than its homologs that move along with the cell wall synthesis machinery in Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli, and this rapid movement was not affected by the inhibitors of cell wall biosynthesis. Our results show that in M. xanthus, MreB provides a scaffold for the gliding motors while the gliding machinery drives the movement of MreB filaments, analogous to the interdependent movements of myosin motors and actin in eukaryotic cells.