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Tunable phenotypic variability through an autoregulatory alternative sigma factor circuit
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Schwall, Christian P., Loman, Torkel E, Martins, Bruno M. C., Cortijo, Sandra, Villava, Casandra, Kusmartsev, Vassili, Livesey, Toby, Saez, Teresa and Locke, James C. W. (2021) Tunable phenotypic variability through an autoregulatory alternative sigma factor circuit. Molecular Systems Biology, 17 (7). e9832. doi:10.15252/msb.20209832 ISSN 1744-4292.
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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.15252/msb.20209832
Abstract
Genetically identical individuals in bacterial populations can display significant phenotypic variability. This variability can be functional, for example by allowing a fraction of stress prepared cells to survive an otherwise lethal stress. The optimal fraction of stress prepared cells depends on environmental conditions. However, how bacterial populations modulate their level of phenotypic variability remains unclear. Here we show that the alternative sigma factor σV circuit in Bacillus subtilis generates functional phenotypic variability that can be tuned by stress level, environmental history and genetic perturbations. Using single‐cell time‐lapse microscopy and microfluidics, we find the fraction of cells that immediately activate σV under lysozyme stress depends on stress level and on a transcriptional memory of previous stress. Iteration between model and experiment reveals that this tunability can be explained by the autoregulatory feedback structure of the sigV operon. As predicted by the model, genetic perturbations to the operon also modulate the response variability. The conserved sigma‐anti‐sigma autoregulation motif is thus a simple mechanism for bacterial populations to modulate their heterogeneity based on their environment.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||||||||
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Subjects: | Q Science > QH Natural history Q Science > QK Botany Q Science > QR Microbiology |
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Divisions: | Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Science > Life Sciences (2010- ) | ||||||||||||
SWORD Depositor: | Library Publications Router | ||||||||||||
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Bacillus subtilis , Bacillus subtilis -- Genetic, Systems biology, Microbiology, Chronophotography, Imaging systems in biology, Gene expression | ||||||||||||
Journal or Publication Title: | Molecular Systems Biology | ||||||||||||
Publisher: | Nature Publishing Group | ||||||||||||
ISSN: | 1744-4292 | ||||||||||||
Official Date: | 19 July 2021 | ||||||||||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | 17 | ||||||||||||
Number: | 7 | ||||||||||||
Article Number: | e9832 | ||||||||||||
DOI: | 10.15252/msb.20209832 | ||||||||||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||||||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||||||||||
Access rights to Published version: | Open Access (Creative Commons) | ||||||||||||
Copyright Holders: | © 2021 The Authors | ||||||||||||
Date of first compliant deposit: | 16 August 2021 | ||||||||||||
Date of first compliant Open Access: | 17 August 2021 | ||||||||||||
RIOXX Funder/Project Grant: |
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