Myxococcus xanthus The Coolest Bacteria PROOF!!! Presentation for Mrs. James' Bio II class

Scientific Stuff Name: Myxococcus xanthus Classification: -Actually is rod-shaped (have rounded ends… so it’s a coccus) -Chemoorganotrophic (chemohetero, basically) -Aerobic (need oxygen)

More Scientific Stuff Habitat – Organic soil (has to have pH 5- 8) Can also live in rockier terrain Special Adaptations - 2 types of locomotion 1. Type IV Pilli (used as a hook) 2. Mucus Secretion (helps it move in a 'gliding' fashion) - Has a multi-cellular synchronizing mechanism -Can talk with other cells to work together against a common prey - Can form endospores when food is not available

Last of Science Stuff Not disease-causing (not harmful to humans) Gram-negative Environmental Impact/ Function - Kills lots of bacteria Cool Stuff – It is used (and still being studied) to kill harmful bacteria and fungi and is used to make antibodies which can fight off yeasts, mold, and enterobacteria.

Cool Stuff - 2 Mutations This mutation has what is called Adventurous Motility (A) This mutation has what is called Social Motility (S) 39 seconds 12 seconds

More Cool Stuff Now is being researched to make a medicine called Taxol that can target breast-cancer cells Genome is 9.14 Mb (not mega-bytes but Mega base which is 1,000,000 base-pairs) Mass of 100,000 Myxococcus Xanthus cells with their visable spores

Hyperlinks http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=coolest+bacteria&rlz=1R2ADSA_enUS349&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&o q= http://rlv.zcache.com/support_bacteria_funny_mens_t_shirt-p235401265518966672qdvq_400.jpg http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Myxococcus_xanthus http://cmgm.stanford.edu/devbio/kaiserlab/about_myxo/about_myxococcus.html http://www.devbio.uga.edu/gallery/2.html http://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php/Myxococcus