Deletion of a mycobacterial divisome factor collapses single-cell phenotypic heterogeneity.

ABSTRACT: Microorganisms are often studied as populations but the behaviour of single, individual cells can have important consequences. For example, tuberculosis, caused by the bacterial pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis, requires months of antibiotic therapy even though the bulk of the bacterial population dies rapidly. Shorter courses lead to high rates of relapse because subpopulations of bacilli can survive despite being genetically identical to those that are easily killed. In fact, mycobacteria create variability each time a cell divides, producing daughter cells with different sizes and growth rates. The mechanism(s) that underlie this high-frequency variation and how variability relates to survival of the population are unknown. Here we show that mycobacteria actively create heterogeneity

SUBMITTER: Rego EH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5567998 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature