PROTEOBACTERIA >> Delta >> Myxococcus >> Myxococcus xanthus
MYXOCOCCUS XANTHUS
| Class: | Delta Proteobacteria |
| Genus: | Myxococcus |
| Species: | Myxococcus xanthus |
| Description: | This organism undergoes a complex development and differentiation pathway. Single cells can be motile by "adventurous motility". When cell density increases, the organism switches to "social motility" where aggregates of cells can gather together into masses termed fruiting bodies that may consist of up to 100 000 cells. Upon nutrient depletion, the cells in these fruiting bodies sporulate. The decision to switch to social motility requires intercellular communication that is partly dependent on cellular density. The motility system is not dependent on flagella like most bacteria, but instead relies on twitching pili: short extracellular appendages that may function analogously to oars in a rowboat. This organism is also utilized industrially to produce the anticancer drug epithilone. |
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| Genbank: | DQ768116.1(16s rRNA) [Genome] [Nucleotide] |
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| Reference: | BEEBE (J.M.): The morphology and cytology of Myxococcus xanthus n. sp. Journal of Bacteriology, 1941, 42, 193-223. |
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