Metabolic adaptations of Azospirillum brasilense to oxygen stress by cell-to-cell clumping and flocculation.

ABSTRACT: The ability of bacteria to monitor their metabolism and adjust their behavior accordingly is critical to maintain competitiveness in the environment. The motile microaerophilic bacterium Azospirillum brasilense navigates oxygen gradients by aerotaxis in order to locate low oxygen concentrations that can support metabolism. When cells are exposed to elevated levels of oxygen in their surroundings, motile A. brasilense cells implement an alternative response to aerotaxis and form transient clumps by cell-to-cell interactions. Clumping was suggested to represent a behavior protecting motile cells from transiently elevated levels of aeration. Using the proteomics of wild-type and mutant strains affected in the extent of their clumping abilities, we show that cell-to-cell clumping represents a

SUBMITTER: Bible AN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4644645 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature