Response of single bacterial cells to stress gives rise to complex history dependence at the population level.

ABSTRACT: Most bacteria live in ever-changing environments where periods of stress are common. One fundamental question is whether individual bacterial cells have an increased tolerance to stress if they recently have been exposed to lower levels of the same stressor. To address this question, we worked with the bacterium Caulobacter crescentus and asked whether exposure to a moderate concentration of sodium chloride would affect survival during later exposure to a higher concentration. We found that the effects measured at the population level depended in a surprising and complex way on the time interval between the two exposure events: The effect of the first exposure on survival of the second exposure was positive for some time intervals but negative for others. We hypothesized that the complex p

SUBMITTER: Mathis R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4839391 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature