Abstract 2220 Utilizing the cuoA promoter to examine arginine kinase's role in Myxococcus xanthus starvation-induced sporulation

Myxococcus xanthus is a predatory soil bacterium with a complex life cycle. When subjected to stress, this normally motile bacteria forms specialized mounds called “fruiting bodies” that contain spores. We recently discovered that M. xanthus possesses a horizontally transferred gene encoding arginine kinase (AK), a protein that catalyzes the phosphorylation of l-arginine into phosphoarginine in other systems and had an unexpected role in this process. AKs are generally involved in energy homeostasis in other eukaryotic organisms.