Journal
ANNUAL REVIEW OF MICROBIOLOGY
Volume 76, Issue -, Pages 597-618Publisher
ANNUAL REVIEWS
DOI: 10.1146/annurev-micro-041320-093442
Keywords
multicellularity; nitrogen fixation; cell-cell communication; pattern formation; morphogen; Turing pattern
Categories
Funding
- National Key RAMP
- D Program of China [2018YFA0903100]
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [92051106, 31800033]
- Chinese Academy of Sciences [Y85Z061601]
- State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology [2019FBZ06]
- Featured Institute Service Projects from the Institute of Hydrobiology
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Heterocyst differentiation in cyanobacteria like Anabaena provides a unique model for prokaryotic developmental biology. Heterocysts, which are formed in response to nitrogen deprivation, play an altruistic role in providing fixed nitrogen for neighboring cells. The development of heterocysts follows a one-dimensional pattern formation, interacting with morphogens in a manner consistent with the Turing model.
Heterocyst differentiation that occurs in some filamentous cyanobacteria, such as Anabaena sp. PCC 7120, provides a unique model for prokaryotic developmental biology. Heterocyst cells are formed in response to combined -nitrogen deprivation and possess a microoxic environment suitable for nitrogen fixation following extensive morphological and physiological reorganization. A filament of Anabaena is a true multicellular organism, as nitrogen and carbon sources are exchanged among different cells and cell types through septal junctions to ensure filament growth. Because heterocysts are terminally differentiated cells and unable to divide, their activity is an altruistic behavior dedicated to providing fixed nitrogen for neighboring vegetative cells. Heterocyst development is also a process of onedimensional pattern formation, as heterocysts are semiregularly intercalated among vegetative cells. Morphogens form gradients along the filament and interact with each other in a fashion that fits well into the Turing model, a mathematical framework to explain biological pattern formation.
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