A leader cell triggers end of lag phase in populations of Pseudomonas fluorescens.

ABSTRACT: The relationship between the number of cells colonizing a new environment and time for resumption of growth is a subject of long-standing interest. In microbiology this is known as the "inoculum effect." Its mechanistic basis is unclear with possible explanations ranging from the independent actions of individual cells, to collective actions of populations of cells. Here, we use a millifluidic droplet device in which the growth dynamics of hundreds of populations founded by controlled numbers of Pseudomonas fluorescens cells, ranging from a single cell, to one thousand cells, were followed in real time. Our data show that lag phase decreases with inoculum size. The decrease of average lag time and its variance across droplets, as well as lag time distribution shapes, follow predicti

SUBMITTER: Ardre M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10117806 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature