Eukaryotic‐like protein serine/threonine kinases in Myxococcus xanthus , a developmental bacterium exhibiting social behavior

Myxococcus xanthus , a gram‐negative bacterium exhibits a spectacular life cycle and social behavior. Its developmental cycle and multicellular morphogenesis resemble those of eukaryotic slime molds such as Dictyostelium discoideum . On the basis of this resemblance, we explored the existence of eukaryotic‐like protein serine/threonine kinases which are known to play important roles in signal transduction during development of D. discoideum . It was indeed found that M. xanthus contains a large family of protein serine/threonine kinases related to the eukaryotic enzymes. This is the first unambiguous demonstration of eukaryotic‐like protein serine/threonine kinases in the prokaryotes. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.