Bacterial chemotaxis in a microfluidic T-maze reveals strong phenotypic heterogeneity in chemotactic sensitivity.
Nat Commun
; 10(1): 1877, 2019 04 23.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-31015402
ABSTRACT
Many microorganisms have evolved chemotactic strategies to exploit the microscale heterogeneity that frequently characterizes microbial habitats. Chemotaxis has been primarily studied as an average characteristic of a population, with little regard for variability among individuals. Here, we adopt a classic tool from animal ecology - the T-maze - and implement it at the microscale by using microfluidics to expose bacteria to a sequence of decisions, each consisting of migration up or down a chemical gradient. Single-cell observations of clonal Escherichia coli in the maze, coupled with a mathematical model, reveal that strong heterogeneity in the chemotactic sensitivity coefficient exists even within clonal populations of bacteria. A comparison of different potential sources of heterogeneity reveals that heterogeneity in the T-maze originates primarily from the chemotactic sensitivity coefficient, arising from a distribution of pathway gains. This heterogeneity may have a functional role, for example in the context of migratory bet-hedging strategies.
Texto completo:
1
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Fenotipo
/
Quimiotaxis
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Escherichia coli
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Modelos Biológicos
Tipo de estudio:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
Idioma:
En
Año:
2019
Tipo del documento:
Article