Fitness cost associated with cell phenotypic switching drives population diversification dynamics and controllability.

ABSTRACT: Isogenic cell populations can cope with stress conditions by switching to alternative phenotypes. Even if it can lead to increased fitness in a natural context, this feature is typically unwanted for a range of applications (e.g., bioproduction, synthetic biology, and biomedicine) where it tends to make cellular response unpredictable. However, little is known about the diversification profiles that can be adopted by a cell population. Here, we characterize the diversification dynamics for various systems (bacteria and yeast) and for different phenotypes (utilization of alternative carbon sources, general stress response and more complex development patterns). Our results suggest that the diversification dynamics and the fitness cost associated with cell switching are coupled. To quantify

SUBMITTER: Henrion L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10545768 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature