Population heterogeneity in Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium abscessus.

ABSTRACT: Bacteria use population heterogeneity, the presence of more than one phenotypic variant in a clonal population, to endure diverse environmental challenges - a 'bet-hedging' strategy. Phenotypic variants have been described in many bacteria, but the phenomenon is not well-understood in mycobacteria, including the environmental factors that influence heterogeneity. Here, we describe three reproducible morphological variants in M. smegmatis - smooth, rough, and an intermediate morphotype that predominated under typical laboratory conditions. M. abscessus has two recognized morphotypes, smooth and rough. Interestingly, M. tuberculosis exists in only a rough form. The shift from smooth to rough in both M. smegmatis and M. abscessus was observed over time in ex

SUBMITTER: Born SEM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10634367 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature