ArticlePLoS genetics2020
Protein-protein interaction network controlling establishment and maintenance of switchable cell polarity.
Article in PLoS genetics, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed.
- The polar landscape of bacterial pathogens and predators.Current opinion in microbiology · 2026Review
- Discovery of PilU as a second type IV pilus retraction motor inJournal of bacteriology · 2026Article
- Cell polarity control by an unconventional G-protein complex in bacteria.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Structural and biophysical insights into RomR, MglB, and MglC interactions involved in regulating cell polarity in Myxococcus xanthus.The Journal of biological chemistry · 2025Article
- Milestones in the development ofJournal of bacteriology · 2025Review
- Combinatorial control of type IVa pili formation by the four polarized regulators MglA, SgmX, FrzS, and SopA.Journal of bacteriology · 2024Article
- A deterministic, c-di-GMP-dependent program ensures the generation of phenotypically similar, symmetric daughter cells during cytokinesis.Nature communications · 2024Article
- A miniTurbo-based proximity labeling protocol to identify conditional protein interactomes in vivo in Myxococcus xanthus.STAR protocols · 2023Article
- Molecular basis and design principles of switchable front-rear polarity and directional migration in Myxococcus xanthus.Nature communications · 2023Article
- A bipartite, low-affinity roadblock domain-containing GAP complex regulates bacterial front-rear polarity.PLoS genetics · 2022Article
- Flagellar Motor Transformed: Biophysical Perspectives of theFrontiers in microbiology · 2022Article
- Linking single-cell decisions to collective behaviours in social bacteria.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2021Article
- Four different mechanisms for switching cell polarity.PLoS computational biology · 2021Article
- The small GTPase MglA together with the TPR domain protein SgmX stimulates type IV pili formation inProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2020Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Cell polarity underlies key processes in all cells, including growth, differentiation and division. In the bacterium Myxococcus xanthus, front-rear polarity is crucial for motility. Notably, this polarity can be inverted, independent of the cell-cycle, by chemotactic signaling. However, a precise understanding of the protein network that establishes polarity and allows for its inversion has remained elusive. Here, we use a combination of quantitative experiments and data-driven theory to unravel the complex interplay between the three key components of the M. xanthus polarity module. By studying each of these components in isolation and their effects as we systematically reconstruct the system, we deduce the network of effective interactions between the polarity proteins. RomR lies at the root of this network, promoting polar localization of the other components, while polarity arises from interconnected negative and positive feedbacks mediated by the small GTPase MglA and its cognate GAP MglB, respectively. We rationalize this network topology as operating as a spatial toggle switch, providing stable polarity for persistent cell movement whilst remaining responsive to chemotactic signaling and thus capable of polarity inversions. Our results have implications not only for the understanding of polarity and motility in M. xanthus but also, more broadly, for dynamic cell polarity.
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