Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Padmanabhan, S.
• Monera-Girona, Antonio J.
• Pérez-Castaño, Ricardo
• Bastida-Martínez, Eva
• Pajares-Martínez, Elena
• Bernal-Bernal, Diego
• Galbis-Martínez, María Luisa
• Polanco, María Carmen
• Iniesta, Antonio A.
• Fontes, Marta
• Elías-Arnanz, Montserrat

Titel

Light-Triggered Carotenogenesis in Myxococcus xanthus: New Paradigms in Photosensory Signaling, Transduction and Gene Regulation

Ist Teil von

• Microorganisms (Basel), 2021-05, Vol.9 (5), p.1067

Ort / Verlag

Basel: MDPI AG

Erscheinungsjahr

2021

Quelle

EZB Electronic Journals Library

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Myxobacteria are Gram-negative δ-proteobacteria found predominantly in terrestrial habitats and often brightly colored due to the biosynthesis of carotenoids. Carotenoids are lipophilic isoprenoid pigments that protect cells from damage and death by quenching highly reactive and toxic oxidative species, like singlet oxygen, generated upon growth under light. The model myxobacterium Myxococcus xanthus turns from yellow in the dark to red upon exposure to light because of the photoinduction of carotenoid biosynthesis. How light is sensed and transduced to bring about regulated carotenogenesis in order to combat photooxidative stress has been extensively investigated in M. xanthus using genetic, biochemical and high-resolution structural methods. These studies have unearthed new paradigms in bacterial light sensing, signal transduction and gene regulation, and have led to the discovery of prototypical members of widely distributed protein families with novel functions. Major advances have been made over the last decade in elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying the light-dependent signaling and regulation of the transcriptional response leading to carotenogenesis in M. xanthus. This review aims to provide an up-to-date overview of these findings and their significance.