A Highly Polymorphic Receptor Governs Many Distinct Self-Recognition Types within the Myxococcales Order

Abstract

Many biological species distinguish self from nonself by using different mechanisms. Higher animals recognize close kin via complex processes that often involve the five senses, cognition, and learning, whereas some microbes achieve self-recognition simply through the activity of a single genetic locus. Here we describe a single locus, traA , in myxobacteria that governs cell-cell recognition within natural populations. We found that traA is widespread across the order Myxococcales . TraA is highly polymorphic among diverse myxobacterial isolates, and such polymorphisms determine selectivity in self-recognition. Through bioinformatic and experimental analyses, we showed that traA governs many distinct recognition groups within Myxococcales . This report provides an example in which a single locus influences social recognition across a wide phylogenetic range of natural populations.