Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Site Tools

  • AAAS
  • Subscribe
  • Feedback

Site Search

Search Advanced

Science 11 July 2008:
Vol. 321. no. 5886, pp. 256 - 259
DOI: 10.1126/science.1160033
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Reports

Genetic Determinants of Self Identity and Social Recognition in Bacteria

Karine A. Gibbs,1* Mark L. Urbanowski,2* E. Peter Greenberg1{dagger}

The bacterium Proteus mirabilis is capable of movement on solid surfaces by a type of motility called swarming. Boundaries form between swarming colonies of different P. mirabilis strains but not between colonies of a single strain. A fundamental requirement for boundary formation is the ability to discriminate between self and nonself. We have isolated mutants that form boundaries with their parent. The mutations map within a six-gene locus that we term ids for identification of self. Five of the genes in the ids locus are required for recognition of the parent strain as self. Three of the ids genes are interchangeable between strains, and two encode specific molecular identifiers.

1 Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
2 Department of Microbiology, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA.

* These authors contributed equally to this work.

{dagger} To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: epgreen{at}u.washington.edu

Read the Full Text

ADVERTISEMENT
Click Me!

ADVERTISEMENT
Click Me!

To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)