Collective dynamics of <i>Escherichia coli</i> growth under near-lethal acid stress.

ABSTRACT: Many neutralophilic bacteria, including Escherichia coli, can withstand acidic conditions due to the action of several protective mechanisms. While the survival of E. coli under growth-inhibitory extreme acid stress is well understood, less is known about the physiology and ecology of E. coli under severe but growth-permissive acidity. Here, we observed that growth of E. coli MG1655 in a rich medium with a pH value of 4.1-4.4 exhibits a characteristic multiphasic growth pattern, which consists of an initial exponential elongation, up to 10 times the normal cell length, in the absence of cell division, followed by growth arrest and subsequent resumption of exponential growth. The duration of the growth arrest phase was strongly dependent on the pH of the medium,

SUBMITTER: Segura Munoz RR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12607569 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature