Promoter activity dynamics in the lag phase of Escherichia coli.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Lag phase is a period of time with no growth that occurs when stationary phase bacteria are transferred to a fresh medium. Bacteria in lag phase seem inert: their biomass does not increase. The low number of cells and low metabolic activity make it difficult to study this phase. As a consequence, it has not been studied as thoroughly as other bacterial growth phases. However, lag phase has important implications for bacterial infections and food safety. We asked which, if any, genes are expressed in the lag phase of Escherichia coli, and what is their dynamic expression pattern.

Results

We developed an assay based on imaging flow cytometry of fluorescent reporter cells that overcomes the challenges inherent in studying lag phase. We distinguish between lag1 phase-

SUBMITTER: Madar D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3918108 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature