Myxococcus xanthus - The Swarming Bacteria

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By [Patrick Nally]

Introduction

Myxococcus xanthus is a specific species of myxobacteria that are single celled but exist in “swarms” or “packs”. Myxococcus xanthus are rod-shaped and are gram-negative. M. xanthus was discovered in 1892 by Roland Thaxter. [1] M. xanthus are found in soil or any place plentiful with organic matter. They live best when the ph of the soil is around 7-8 and the temperature is around 30C. [2] M. xanthus is also a chemoorganotroph, which means they are organisms that oxidize the chemical bonds in organic compounds that they then use for energy. Myxococcus xanthus live together by living in a small biofilm or slime sheet. [3] They move as one in search of nutrients, but when nutrients are not immediately available the cells are able to transform and come together as one large mass in order to survive.


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Myxococcus xanthus is a specific species of myxobacteria that are single celled but exist in “swarms” or “packs”. Myxococcus xanthus are rod-shaped and are gram-negative. The “swarm” travels together by connecting their pili to each other and coming together as one large mass. This mass of Myxococcus xanthus will break down any prey in its way. When prey is no longer available they do not travel as much and instead they build up to form a small, enclosed bubble that is able to sustain resources until food is available again.

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  1. ↑ Thaxter, R On the Myxobacteriaceae, a new order of Schizomycetes. Botanical Gazette. 1892, 17:12, 389-406.
  2. ↑ Janssen GR, Wireman JW, Dworkin M Effect of temperature on the growth of Myxococcus xanthus. Journal of Bacteriology. 1977, 130(1) 561-562.
  3. ↑ Shimkets L.J., Dworkin M., Reichenbach H. (2006) The Myxobacteria. In: Dworkin M., Falkow S., Rosenberg E., Schleifer KH., Stackebrandt E. (eds) The Prokaryotes. Springer, New York, NY.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Hodgkin, J. and Partridge, F.A. "Caenorhabditis elegans meets microsporidia: the nematode killers from Paris." 2008. PLoS Biology 6:2634-2637.
  5. ↑ Bartlett et al.: Oncolytic viruses as therapeutic cancer vaccines. Molecular Cancer 2013 12:103.
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