Single cell analysis of gene expression patterns during carbon starvation in Bacillus subtilis reveals large phenotypic variation

Abstract:

How cells dynamically respond to fluctuating environmental conditions depends on the architecture and noise of the underlying genetic circuits. Most work characterizing stress pathways in the model bacterium Bacillus subtilis has been performed on bulk cultures using ensemble assays. However, investigating the single cell response to stress is important since noise might generate significant phenotypic heterogeneity. Here, we study the stress response to carbon source starvation and compare both population and single cell data. Using a top-down approach, we investigate the transcriptional dynamics of various stress-related genes of B. subtilis in response to carbon source starvation and to increased cell density. Our data reveal that most of the tested gene-regulatory networks respond highly heterogeneously to starvation and cells show a large degree of variation in gene expression. The level of highly dynamic diversification within B. subtilis populations under changing environments reflects the necessity to study cells at the single cell level.

SEEK ID: https://fairdomhub.org/publications/183

PubMed ID: 23033921

Projects: Noisy-Strep

Publication type: Not specified

Journal: Environ. Microbiol.

Citation:

Date Published: 4th Oct 2012

Registered Mode: Not specified

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Created: 18th Dec 2012 at 17:04

Last updated: 8th Dec 2022 at 17:26

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