Bioluminescence dynamics in single germinating bacterial spores reveal metabolic heterogeneity

Author:

Frentz Zak,Dworkin JonathanORCID

Abstract

AbstractSpore-forming bacteria modulate their metabolic rate by over 5 orders of magnitude as they transition between dormant spores and vegetative cells, and thus represent an extreme case of phenotypic variation. During environmental changes in nutrient availability, clonal populations of spore-forming bacteria exhibit individual differences in cell fate, timing of phenotypic transitions, and gene expression. One potential source of this variability is metabolic heterogeneity, but this has not yet been measured, as existing single-cell methods are not easily applicable to spores due to their small size and strong autofluorescence. Here, we use the bacterial bioluminescence system and a highly sensitive microscope to measure metabolic dynamics in thousands ofB. subtilisspores as they germinate. We observe and quantitate large variations in the bioluminescence dynamics across individual spores that can be decomposed into contributions from variability in germination timing, the amount of endogenously produced luminescence substrate, and the intracellular reducing power. This work shows that quantitative measurement of spore metabolism is possible and thus it opens venues for future study of the thermodynamic nature of dormant states.

Publisher

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Cited by 1 articles. 订阅此论文施引文献 订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3