Bacteriophage-mediated lysis supports robust growth of amino acid auxotrophs.

ABSTRACT: The majority of microbes are auxotrophs - organisms unable to synthesize one or more metabolites required for their growth. Auxotrophy is thought to confer an evolutionary advantage, yet auxotrophs must rely on other organisms that produce the metabolites they require. The mechanisms of metabolite provisioning by "producers" remain unknown. In particular, it is unclear how metabolites such as amino acids and cofactors, which are found inside the cell, are released by producers to become available to auxotrophs. Here, we explore metabolite secretion and cell lysis as two distinct possible mechanisms that result in release of intracellular metabolites from producer cells. We measured the extent to which secretion or lysis of Escherichia coli and Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron ami

SUBMITTER: Pherribo GJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10002711 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature