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Motility in cyanobacteria: polysaccharide tracks and T ype IV pilus motors
Author(s) -
Wilde Annegret,
Mullineaux Conrad W.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
molecular microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.857
H-Index - 247
eISSN - 1365-2958
pISSN - 0950-382X
DOI - 10.1111/mmi.13242
Subject(s) - pilus , cyanobacteria , biology , motility , flagellum , polysaccharide , bacteria , microbiology and biotechnology , biochemistry , gene , virulence , genetics
Summary Motility in cyanobacteria is useful for purposes that range from seeking out favourable light environments to establishing symbioses with plants and fungi. No known cyanobacterium is equipped with flagella, but a diverse range of species is able to ‘glide’ or ‘twitch’ across surfaces. Cyanobacteria with this capacity range from unicellular species to complex filamentous forms, including species such as N ostoc punctiforme , which can generate specialised motile filaments called hormogonia. Recent work on the model unicellular cyanobacterium S ynechocystis sp. PCC 6803 has shown that its means of propulsion has much in common with the twitching motility of heterotrophs such as P seudomonas and M yxococcus . Movement depends on T ype IV pili, which are extended, adhere to the substrate and then retract to pull the cell across the surface. Previous work on filamentous cyanobacteria suggested a very different mechanism, with movement powered by the directional extrusion of polysaccharide from pores close to the cell junctions. Now a new report by K hayatan and colleagues in this issue of Molecular Microbiology suggests that the motility of N ostoc hormogonia has much more in common with S ynechocystis than was previously thought. In both cases, polysaccharide secretion is important for preparing the surface, but the directional motive force comes from T ype IV pili.