Structural and Biochemical studies of SofG, a GTPase involved in bacterial cell motility

Abstract

Cell motility is one of the important functions performed by the bacteria in order to survive. Myxococcus xanthus, a rod shaped bacteria exhibits two different types of motility namely Adventurous Gliding motility characterized by the use of complexes similar to Focal adhesion Complexes and Social motility using the type IV Pili machinery. Recent studies have shown that small proteins namely GTPases help in establishing cell polarity in Myxococcus xanthus which help the bacteria in deciding the direction. It was found that SofG is one such GTPase which with the help of BacP sorts the motor ATPases PilB and PilT to the opposite poles thus maintaining the cell polarity. To investigate the molecular mechanisms of the action of SofG in Myxococcus xanthus, in vitro studies were carried out using cloning and protein over-expression in E.coli. The protein was purified and used for biochemical assays like Malachite Green Assay to get insights into the activity of the protein. With the help of such structural and biochemical studies on SofG and other contributing proteins, it would be possible to determine the molecular mechanism of cell polarity in Myxococcus xanthus.