Evolution of pH-sensitive transcription termination in Escherichia coli during adaptation to repeated long-term starvation.

ABSTRACT: Fluctuating environments that consist of regular cycles of co-occurring stress are a common challenge faced by cellular populations. For a population to thrive in constantly changing conditions, an ability to coordinate a rapid cellular response is essential. Here, we identify a mutation conferring an arginine-to-histidine (Arg to His) substitution in the transcription terminator Rho. The rho R109H mutation frequently arose in Escherichia coli populations experimentally evolved under repeated long-term starvation conditions, during which the accumulation of metabolic waste followed by transfer into fresh media results in drastic environmental pH fluctuations associated with feast and famine. Metagenomic sequencing revealed that populations containing the rho mutation a

SUBMITTER: Worthan SB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11441560 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature