How organisms build structures of controlled size and shape, and with cells that adopt alternative fates, are fundamental questions in biology. Myxococcus xanthus provides a unique opportunity to answer these questions: when starved, these rod-shaped bacteria move in streams and build mounds that produce structures, called fruiting bodies, while at the same time some cells differentiate into round spores. Other cells die or remain outside of the fruiting bodies as rods. Short-range signaling (called C-signaling) between cells coordinates streaming and mound formation with spore differentiation, but how this occurs is not fully known. To understand the process, the research will identify which genes are involved, how their expression changes during streaming and mound formation, what genes initiate change in cell shape, and how the cells communicate. Cell-cell interactions impact the life of all organisms. Further understanding of how cell-cell interactions drive behaviors will benefit society by, for example, providing information that will permit manipulation of microbial communities for pollution and climate control, and increase the potential for bioenergy and food production. The project will also benefit society by providing strong interdisciplinary training to students and by increasing public scientific literacy and engagement through interactive presentations and outreach events.

Myxococcus xanthus is an attractive model system because multicellular development occurs rapidly and synchronously under laboratory conditions. The signaling and sensory capabilities of M. xanthus rival those of lower eukaryotes in complexity and include eukaryotic-like features, such as the use of short-range signaling to coordinate emergent behaviors. By focusing on how M. xanthus uses short-range signaling to coordinate streaming and mound formation with spore differentiation, the project will provide deep insight into emergent properties found commonly in development, such as assembly of multicellular structures and cell fate determination, using a highly genetically tractable system. The knowledge gained and methods developed will also catalyze research on microbial communities (microbiomes). The complexity of multispecies microbiomes and their environments makes it challenging to discover the underlying mechanisms and understand how they contribute to emergent properties. In particular, the role of short-range signaling is understudied. The research team's focus on how M. xanthus uses short-range signaling to drive successive emergent behaviors will advance knowledge that has potential to transform thinking about how the properties of microbiomes emerge. They will use a broad range of approaches including microscopy, genetics, biochemistry, and mathematical modeling. The team has extensive experience investigating signaling and gene regulation in bacteria, extracting data from microscopic images, and using data-driven computational simulations to interpret results and guide further experiments. Recently, they devised methods to visualize the shape and gene expression of individual cells during M. xanthus development. The new methodology paves the way for the work, which also relies on innovative strategies to identify genes driving emergent behaviors.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

Agency
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Institute
Division of Integrative Organismal Systems (IOS)
Application #
1951025
Program Officer
Anne W. Sylvester
Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
2020-03-01
Budget End
2023-02-28
Support Year
Fiscal Year
2019
Total Cost
$597,949
Indirect Cost
Name
Michigan State University
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
East Lansing
State
MI
Country
United States
Zip Code
48824