Surface- and contact-dependent motility in the soil bacterium Myxococcus xanthus (E08 (C04))

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Cells of Myxococcus xanthus undergo major lifestyle changes in response to nutrient availability with the formation of two morphologically distinct biofilms. Type IV pili (T4P)-dependent motility is essential for the formation of both types of biofilms. We propose two lines of investigations to understand the mechanism of T4P. First, building on our model for the T4P machinery, we aim to determine how proteins at the base of the T4P machinery interact dynamically. Second, we aim to elucidate the composition and structure of M. xanthus exopolysaccharides (EPS) and determine how c-di-GMP regulates EPS accumulation and in that way T4P function in M. xanthus.