Affiliation:
1. Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, The Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
Abstract
Until now, bacterial cells facing nutrient deprivation were shown to enter dormancy as a strategy to survive prolonged stress, with the most established examples being sporulation, stationary phase, and persistence. Here, we uncovered an opposing strategy for long-term bacterial survival, in which mutant subpopulations cope with a challenging niche by proliferating rather than by stalling division. We show that this feature stems from mutations in genes disturbing the capability of the cells to differentiate into a quiescent state, enabling them to divide under restrictive conditions. Our study challenges the dogma of bacterial aging by highlighting an additional survival strategy resembling that of cancerous cells in animal organs.
Publisher
American Society for Microbiology
Cited by
9 articles.
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