Ribonucleic acid synthesis during microcyst formation in Myxococcus xanthus: characterization by deoxyribonucleic...

The technique of deoxyribonucleic acid-ribonucleic acid (RNA) hybridization was used to compare the RNA synthesized during vegetative growth and microcyst formation in Myxococcus xanthus. All classes of RNA, including ribosomal RNA, were synthesized during microcyst formation. The results indicate that the ribosomal RNA synthesized during microcyst formation was indistinguishable from that made during vegetative growth. Hybridization competition experiments demonstrated that certain messenger RNA species are synthesized only during vegetative growth, whereas others are synthesized only during microcyst formation. The synthesis of a new species of RNA polymerase does not appear to be responsible for differential transcription during morphogenesis in M. xanthus since the rifampicin sensitivity of transcription was conserved during microcyst formation.