An extracellular, diffusible signaling molecule (pheromone) was produced by Stigmatella aurantiaca during fruiting body formation. The pheromone decreased the aggregation period in both the light and the dark and substituted for light in stimulating the maturation of aggregates into fruiting bodies. The cells were more sensitive to lower concentrations of pheromone in the light than in the dark, possibly explaining the stimulation of aggregation and fruiting body formation by light. The pheromone also interacted cooperatively with GMP to shorten the aggregation period. The pheromone behaved chemically as a low-molecular-weight lipid.

Animals↗

PubMed1980

Photocontrol of development by Stigmatella aurantiaca.

Aggregation and fruiting body formation by Stigmatella aurantiaca were stimulated most effectively by low irradiances of blue light between 400 and 500 nm. At higher irradiances, other wavelengths of light, including those in the far-red region of the spectrum, were also effective.

Light↗

PubMed1980

Morphogenetic effects of light and guanine derivatives on the fruiting myxobacterium Stigmatella aurantiaca.

When low cell densities of the myxobacterium Stigmatella aurantiaca were starved on an inorganic salts and agar medium, cell aggregation and fruiting body formation showed a striking dependency upon the presence of light. This dependency was not manifested when sufficient amounts of guanosine or guanine nucleotides were added to the medium. Light interacted cooperatively with suboptimal concentrations of guanine compounds to promote development. None of the other purine or pyrimidine derivatives, with the exception of adenine, stimulated development. However, aggregates that formed in the presence of adenine did not mature into fruiting bodies and instead disaggregated.

Guanine Nucleotides↗

PubMed1980

Effects of specific cations on aggregation and fruiting body morphology in the myxobacterium Stigmatella aurantiaca.

The cation requirements for fruiting body formation in the myxobacterium Stigmatella aurantiaca on agarose were determined. Calcium alone caused the cells to aggregate into interconnecting ridges. Under these conditions, stalk formation was severely depressed but sporangia frequently formed. The combination of magnesium and manganese was necessary for optimal formation of discrete aggregates (rather than ridges) and stalks. Manganese inhibited sporangium development. The inclusion of calcium into the magnesium-manganese medium overcame the inhibition by manganese and stimulated the production of multiple sporangia.

Calcium↗

PubMed1978

Light-stimulated morphogenesis in the fruiting myxobacterium Stigmatella aurantiaca.

When the fruiting myxobacterium Stigmatella aurantiaca, a gliding prokaryote, is starved on an agar surface, the cells form multicellular aggregates resulting from morphogenetic movements. In the presence of incandescent light, each aggregate develops into a structurally complex fruiting body, possessing a stalk and several sporangia. In contrast, this pattern of development is not seen when cultures are incubated in the dark. The cells form irregular interconnecting aggregates, which rarely develop into fruits. However, aggregates formed in the light will develop into fruits even if placed in the dark, suggesting that the light produced a relatively stable alteration in the phenotype of the cells.

Light↗

PubMed1978