The Mechanistic Basis of Myxococcus xanthus Rippling Behavior and Its Physiological Role during Predation

Simple item page
dc.citation.firstpagee1002715
dc.citation.issueNumber9
dc.citation.journalTitlePLoS Computational Biology
dc.citation.volumeNumber8
dc.contributor.authorZhang, Haiyang
dc.contributor.authorVaksman, Zalman
dc.contributor.authorLitwin, Douglas B.
dc.contributor.authorShi, Peng
dc.contributor.authorKaplan, Heidi B.
dc.contributor.authorIgoshin, Oleg A.
dc.date.accessioned2013-04-03T17:27:51Z
dc.date.available2013-04-03T17:27:51Z
dc.date.issued2012
dc.description.abstractMyxococcus xanthus cells self-organize into periodic bands of traveling waves, termed ripples, during multicellular fruiting body development and predation on other bacteria. To investigate the mechanistic basis of rippling behavior and its physiological role during predation by this Gram-negative soil bacterium, we have used an approach that combines mathematical modeling with experimental observations. Specifically, we developed an agent-based model (ABM) to simulate rippling behavior that employs a new signaling mechanism to trigger cellular reversals. The ABM has demonstrated that three ingredients are sufficient to generate rippling behavior: (i) side-to-side signaling between two cells that causes one of the cells to reverse, (ii) a minimal refractory time period after each reversal during which cells cannot reverse again, and (iii) physical interactions that cause the cells to locally align. To explain why rippling behavior appears as a consequence of the presence of prey, we postulate that prey-associated macromolecules indirectly induce ripples by stimulating side-toside contact-mediated signaling. In parallel to the simulations, M. xanthus predatory rippling behavior was experimentally observed and analyzed using time-lapse microscopy. A formalized relationship between the wavelength, reversal time, and cell velocity has been predicted by the simulations and confirmed by the experimental data. Furthermore, the results suggest that the physiological role of rippling behavior during M. xanthus predation is to increase the rate of spreading over prey cells due to increased side-to-side contact-mediated signaling and to allow predatory cells to remain on the prey longer as a result of more periodic cell motility.
dc.embargo.termsnone
dc.identifier.citationZhang, Haiyang, Vaksman, Zalman, Litwin, Douglas B., et al.. "The Mechanistic Basis of Myxococcus xanthus Rippling Behavior and Its Physiological Role during Predation." <i>PLoS Computational Biology,</i> 8, no. 9 (2012) Public Library of Science: e1002715. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002715.
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002715
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/70899
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherPublic Library of Science
dc.rightsThis is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.titleThe Mechanistic Basis of Myxococcus xanthus Rippling Behavior and Its Physiological Role during Predation
dc.typeJournal article
dc.type.dcmiText
dc.type.publicationpublisher version
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
MechanisticBasis.pdf
Size:
3.23 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.61 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Download
Collections
Bioengineering Publications
Faculty Publications