Transcriptional changes when Myxococcus xanthus preys on Escherichia coli suggest myxobacterial predators are constitutively toxic but regulate their feeding

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Author
Livingstone, Paul
Millard, A.D.
Swain, M.T.
Whitworth, D.E.
Date
2018-01-18Acceptance date
2017-12-21
Type
Article
Publisher
Microbiology Society
ISSN
2057-5858
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Predation is a fundamental ecological process, but within microbial ecosystems the mechanisms of predation remain poorly understood for most predators. We investigated transcriptome changes associated with the predation of Escherichia coli by the ‘wolf-pack’ myxobacterial predator Myxococcus xanthus using mRNA sequencing. While large-scale changes in gene expression were observed in the prey organism, exposure to prey altered the expression of only a small number of genes in the predator (osmoregulation genes). It seems that predator genes required for prey killing are expressed constitutively, and the predator instead responds to the death throes of the prey – more reminiscent of a web-building spider than a wolf-pack. This study provides a framework for further investigations into the gene regulatory changes associated with microbial predation, which will inform future efforts to exploit the antimicrobial activity of predators in the control of problem prey microbes.
Journal/conference proceeding
Microbial Genomics;
Citation
Livingstone, P.G., Millard, A.D., Swain, M.T. and Whitworth, D.E. (2018) 'Transcriptional changes when Myxococcus xanthus preys on Escherichia coli suggest myxobacterial predators are constitutively toxic but regulate their feeding', Microbial Genomics, 4(2).
Description
Article published in Microbial Genomics available open access at https://dx.doi.org/10.1099/mgen.0.000152
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