Editing Quorum sensing (section)

====''Myxococcus xanthus''====
''[[Myxococcus]]'' is a genus of gram-negative bacterium in the Myxococcacae family. ''[[Myxococcus xanthus]]'' specifically, a bacillus myxobacteria species within [[Myxococcaceae|Myxococcae]], grows in the upper layers of soil. This bacterium is known for its unique utilization of quorum sensing practices to hunt.

The bacterium uniquely survives not on sugars, but [[lipid]]s created by the degradation of macromolecules lysed by the species. It hunts and feeds through a density-regulated method of predation that is "the regulation of gene expression in response to cell density."<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal| doi = 10.1111/j.1574-6976.2009.00185.x| issn = 0168-6445| volume = 33| issue = 5| pages = 942–957| last1 = Berleman| first1 = James E.| last2 = Kirby| first2 = John R.| title = Deciphering the hunting strategy of a bacterial wolfpack| journal = FEMS Microbiology Reviews| access-date = 2024-04-16| date = 2009-09-01| pmid = 19519767| pmc = 2774760| url = https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1574-6976.2009.00185.x}}</ref> The [[pilus]] propelled microorganism moves with the use of both S- and A- (or gliding) motility, which provide transportation across a dynamic range of different surfaces.<ref>{{Cite journal| issn = 0027-8424| volume = 90| issue = 8| pages = 3378–3382| last1 = Shi| first1 = W| last2 = Zusman| first2 = D R| title = The two motility systems of Myxococcus xanthus show different selective advantages on various surfaces.| journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America| date = 1993-04-15| doi = 10.1073/pnas.90.8.3378| doi-access = free| pmid = 8475084| pmc = 46303| bibcode = 1993PNAS...90.3378S}}</ref>  ''M. xanthus''{{'s}} A-motility is most effective in the presence of a single or low number of cells, allowing the bacteria to glide in high [[agar]] concentrations. The S-motility, or social motility, is controlled by the process of quorum sensing and is only effective when cells are within one cell length of a neighbor.<ref>{{Cite journal| doi = 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005010| issn = 1553-7358| volume = 12| issue = 6| pages = –1005010| last1 = Patra| first1 = Pintu| last2 = Kissoon| first2 = Kimberley| last3 = Cornejo| first3 = Isabel| last4 = Kaplan| first4 = Heidi B.| last5 = Igoshin| first5 = Oleg A.| title = Colony Expansion of Socially Motile Myxococcus xanthus Cells Is Driven by Growth, Motility, and Exopolysaccharide Production| journal = PLOS Computational Biology| date = 2016-06-30| doi-access = free| pmid = 27362260| pmc = 4928896| bibcode = 2016PLSCB..12E5010P}}</ref>  Although the precise specifics of ''M. xanthus''{{'s}} communication methods for quorum sensing are not well understood, the bacteria mediate the process by using both C-signal and A-factor. The A-factor molecule, produced by ''M. xanthus'', must reach a set concentration to initiate aggregation for hunting.<ref>{{Cite journal| doi = 10.3389/fmicb.2017.00439| issn = 1664-302X| volume = 8| pages = 439| last1 = Lloyd| first1 = Daniel G.| last2 = Whitworth| first2 = David E.| title = The Myxobacterium Myxococcus xanthus Can Sense and Respond to the Quorum Signals Secreted by Potential Prey Organisms| journal = Frontiers in Microbiology| date = 2017-03-14| doi-access = free| pmid = 28352265| pmc = 5348527}}</ref>  The C-signal concentration, on the other hand, plays a role in [[Fruiting body (bacteria)|fruiting body]] production.

The species is known for its ability to use quorum sensing to hunt in special packs with thousands of individual cells, lending to ''M. xanthus''{{'s}} name "the wolf packs." ''M. xanthus'' is inclined to behave in a [[Multicellular organism|multicellular]] fashion. In the presence of many cells, it uses these "wolf packs" to form "highly structured [[biofilm]]s that include tentacle-like packs of surface-gliding cell groups, synchronized rippling waves of oscillating cells and massive spore-filled aggregates that protrude upwards from the substratum to form fruiting bodies."<ref>{{Cite journal| doi = 10.3389/fmicb.2022.894562| issn = 1664-302X| volume = 13| pages = 894562| last1 = Dye| first1 = Keane J.| last2 = Yang| first2 = Zhaomin| title = Analysis of Myxococcus xanthus Vegetative Biofilms With Microtiter Plates| journal = Frontiers in Microbiology| date = 2022-04-29| doi-access = free| pmid = 35572678| pmc = 9100584}}</ref><ref name=":8" /> On the fringes of this film, individual cells can be observed "gliding across the surface, but the majority of cells are observed in large tendril-shaped groups" using S-motility.<ref name=":8" />