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Nongenetic individuality in the host-phage interaction.

ABSTRACT: Isogenic bacteria can exhibit a range of phenotypes, even in homogeneous environmental conditions. Such nongenetic individuality has been observed in a wide range of biological processes, including differentiation and stress response. A striking example is the heterogeneous response of bacteria to antibiotics, whereby a small fraction of drug-sensitive bacteria can persist under extensive antibiotic treatments. We have previously shown that persistent bacteria enter a phenotypic state, identified by slow growth or dormancy, which protects them from the lethal action of antibiotics. Here, we studied the effect of persistence on the interaction between Escherichia coli and phage lambda. We used long-term time-lapse microscopy to follow the expression of green fluorescent protein (GFP) under the phage lytic promoter, as well as cellular fate, in single infected bacteria. Intriguingly, we found that, whereas persistent bacteria are protected from prophage induction, they are not protected from lytic infection. Quantitative analysis of gene expression reveals that the expression of lytic genes is suppressed in persistent bacteria. However, when persistent bacteria switch to normal growth, the infecting phage resumes the process of gene expression, ultimately causing cell lysis. Using mathematical models for these two host-phage interactions, we found that the bacteria's nongenetic individuality can significantly affect the population dynamics, and might be relevant for understanding the coevolution of bacterial hosts and phages.

SUBMITTER: Pearl S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2386839 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Bacteriophages, as the most abundant biological entities on Earth, place significant predation pressure on their hosts. This pressure plays a critical role in the evolution, diversity, and abundance of bacteria. In addition, phages modulate the genetic diversity of prokaryotic communities through the transfer of auxiliary metabolic genes. Various studies have been conducted in diverse ecosystems to understand phage-host interactions and their effects on prokaryote metabolism and community composition. However, hypersaline environments remain among the least studied ecosystems and the interaction between the phages and prokaryotes in these habitats is poorly understood. This study begins to fill this knowledge gap by analyzing bacteriophage-host interactions in the Great Salt Lake, the largest prehistoric hypersaline lake in the Western Hemisphere. Our metagenomics analyses allowed us to comprehensively identify the bacterial and phage communities with Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Bacteroidetes as the most dominant bacterial species and Siphoviridae, Myoviridae, and Podoviridae as the most dominant viral families found in the metagenomic sequences. We also characterized interactions between the phage and prokaryotic communities of Great Salt Lake and determined how these interactions possibly influence the community diversity, structure, and biogeochemical cycles. In addition, presence of prophages and their interaction with the prokaryotic host was studied and showed the possibility of prophage induction and subsequent infection of prokaryotic community present in the Great Salt Lake environment under different environmental stress factors. We found that carbon cycle was the most susceptible nutrient cycling pathways to prophage induction in the presence of environmental stresses. This study gives an enhanced snapshot of phage and prokaryote abundance and diversity as well as their interactions in a hypersaline complex ecosystem, which can pave the way for further research studies.

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Nongenetic individuality in the host-phage interaction.

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