Phenotypic Diversity as a Mechanism to Exit Cellular Dormancy.

ABSTRACT: Microorganisms can facilitate their survival in stressful environments by entering a state of metabolic inactivity or dormancy. However, this state impairs the function of the very sensory systems necessary to detect favorable growth conditions. Thus, how can a metabolically quiescent cell accurately monitor environmental conditions in order to best decide when to exit dormancy? One strategy employed by microbes to deal with changing environments is the generation of phenotypes that may be less well adapted to a current condition but might confer an advantage in the future. This bet-hedging depends on phenotypic diversity in the population, which itself can derive from naturally occurring stochastic differences in gene expression. In the case of metabolic dormancy, a bet-hedging strategy t

SUBMITTER: Sturm A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4778719 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature