Role of Phase Variation in the Resistance of Myxococcus xanthus Fruiting Bodies to Caenorhabditis elegans Predation

• Published in: Journal of Bacteriology 2011-10, Vol.193 (19), p.5081-5089
• Main Authors: Dahl, John L, Ulrich, Christina H, Kroft, Tim L
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Bacteriology; biofilm; Biofilms; Biofilms - growth & development; Biological and medical sciences; Caenorhabditis elegans; Caenorhabditis elegans - microbiology; fruiting bodies; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Glycerol - pharmacology; Gram-negative bacteria; ingestion; lysozyme; Microbial Communities and Interactions; Microbiology; Miscellaneous; Myxococcus xanthus; Myxococcus xanthus - drug effects; Myxococcus xanthus - growth & development; Myxococcus xanthus - physiology; Nematodes; Predation; soil ecology; spores; Spores, Bacterial - drug effects; sporulation; vegetative cells
• ISSN: 0021-9193; 1098-5530; 1067-8832
• DOI: 10.1128/JB.05383-11

The phenomenon of phase variation between yellow and tan forms of Myxococcus xanthus has been recognized for several decades, but it is not known what role this variation may play in the ecology of myxobacteria. We confirm an earlier report that tan variants are disproportionately more numerous in the resulting spore population of a M. xanthus fruiting body than the tan vegetative cells that contributed to fruiting body formation. However, we found that tan cells may not require yellow cells for fruiting body formation or starvation-induced sporulation of tan cells. Here we report three differences between the yellow and tan variants that may play important roles in the soil ecology of M. xanthus. Specifically, the yellow variant is more capable of forming biofilms, is more sensitive to lysozyme, and is more resistant to ingestion by bacteriophagous nematodes. We also show that the myxobacterial fruiting body is more resistant to predation by worms than are dispersed M. xanthus cells.