Bet-hedging and epigenetic inheritance in bacterial cell development.

ABSTRACT: Upon nutritional limitation, the bacterium Bacillus subtilis has the capability to enter the irreversible process of sporulation. This developmental process is bistable, and only a subpopulation of cells actually differentiates into endospores. Why a cell decides to sporulate or not to do so is poorly understood. Here, through the use of time-lapse microscopy, we follow the growth, division, and differentiation of individual cells to identify elements of cell history and ancestry that could affect this decision process. These analyses show that during microcolony development, B. subtilis uses a bet-hedging strategy whereby some cells sporulate while others use alternative metabolites to continue growth, providing the latter subpopulation with a reproductive advantage. We demonstrate that B

SUBMITTER: Veening JW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2393751 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature