| Title |
Effects of Exopolysaccharide Production on Liquid Vegetative Growth, Stress Survival, and Stationary Phase Recovery in Myxococcus xanthus |
| Author |
Wei Hu1,2, Jing Wang1,2, Ian McHardy3, Renate Lux1, Zhe Yang3, Yuezhong Li2, and Wenyuan Shi1,3* |
| Address |
1School of Dentistry and University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA, 2State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, School of Life Science, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, 250100, P. R. China, 3Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA |
| Bibliography |
Journal of Microbiology, 50(2),241-248, 2012,
|
| DOI |
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| Key Words |
Myxococcus xanthus, exopolysaccharide, vegetative growth, stress survival, stationary phase recovery |
| Abstract |
Exopolysaccharide (EPS) of Myxococcus xanthus is a wellregulated
cell surface component. In addition to its known
functions for social motility and fruiting body formation
on solid surfaces, EPS has also been proposed to play a role
in multi-cellular clumping in liquid medium, though this
phenomenon has not been well studied. In this report, we
confirmed that M. xanthus clumps formed in liquid were
correlated with EPS levels and demonstrated that the EPS
encased cell clumps exhibited biofilm-like structures. The
clumps protected the cells at physiologically relevant EPS
concentrations, while cells lacking EPS exhibited significant
reduction in long-term viability and resistance to stressful
conditions. However, excess EPS production was counterproductive
to vegetative growth and viable cell recovery declined
in extended late stationary phase as cells became
trapped in the matrix of clumps. Therefore, optimal EPS
production by M. xanthus is important for normal physiological
functions in liquid. |
