Histone H1 and high-mobility group A (HMGA) proteins compete dynamically to modulate chromatin structure and regulate DNA transactions in eukaryotes. In prokaryotes, HMGA-like domains are known only in Myxococcus xanthus CarD and its Stigmatella aurantiaca ortholog. These have an N-terminal module absent in HMGA that interacts with CarG (a zinc-associated factor that does not bind DNA) to form ...

A third group o f antibiotics, the aurachins, have been isolated from the m yxobacterium Stigmatella aurantiaca. The aurachins chemically are quinolones, and four o f them (aurachins A D ) have been tested for their inhibitory activity in photosystem II and cytochrom e b/ccomplexes. A urachin C is the best inhibitor in photosystem II (p /50-value 7.2); its biochemical behaviour being the same l...

The delicately branching tree shown above (left) is formed by a complex multicellular assembly of the myxobacterium Chondromyces crocatus. A fruiting body of Stigmatella aurantiaca is shown on the lower right. Myxobacteria are gram-negative soil bacteria characterized by the type of social behaviour more often associated with eukaryotes. Their fruiting bodies contain resistant spores that arise...

Three new compounds, enhygromic acid (1) and deoxyenhygrolides A (2) and B (3), were isolated from a marine myxobacterium, Enhygromyxa sp. Compound 1 was found to be an acrylic acid derivative with a rare polycyclic carbon skeleton, decahydroacenaphthylene, by spectroscopic analyses. Compounds 2 and 3 were deoxy analogs of the known γ-alkylidenebutenolides, enhygrolides. Compound 1 exhibited cy...

New bithiazole-type antibiotics, cystothiazoles A (C20H26N2O4S2) and B (C20H26N2O5S2), have been isolated from a culture broth of the myxobacterium, Cystobacter fuscus. The gross structures of these compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis, and their absolute stereochemistry was determined by chemical degradation of cystothiazole A. Cystothiazole A inhibits fungi and human tumor cell...

Epothilones are a new class of potential antitumor compounds that were isolated from the myxobacterium Sorangium cellulosum. Epothilones have effects on the cytoskeleton similar to those of the antineoplastic drug Taxol. Both compounds inhibit cell proliferation by stabilizing microtubuli, and they compete for the same binding site. In addition, Taxol displays endotoxin-like properties in that ...