The function of cells critically depends on the proper spatial organization of their
components with proteins and other macromolecules targeted to defined
subcellular locations. In eukaryotes as well as in bacteria this organization, i.e. cell
polarity, forms the basis for key cellular processes, such as cell shape determination,
differentiation, regulation of chromosome dynamics and cytokinesis as well as
motility. Despite the immense importance of cell polarity, the mechanisms
responsible for its establishment are still poorly understood. Using the rod-shaped
cells of the bacterium Myxococcus xanthus we are investigating how bacteria
establish and maintain cell polarity to regulate motility. I will present data
demonstrating how two small Ras-like GTPases function together with the
cytoskeleton in these processes.