Coordination of gene expression with cell size enables Escherichia coli to efficiently maintain motility across conditions.

ABSTRACT: To swim and navigate, motile bacteria synthesize a complex motility machinery involving flagella, motors, and a sensory system. A myriad of studies has elucidated the molecular processes involved, but less is known about the coordination of motility expression with cellular physiology: In Escherichia coli, motility genes are strongly up-regulated in nutrient-poor conditions compared to nutrient-replete conditions; yet a quantitative link to cellular motility has not been developed. Here, we systematically investigated gene expression, swimming behavior, cell growth, and available proteomics data across a broad spectrum of exponential growth conditions. Our results suggest that cells up-regulate the expression of motility genes at slow growth to compensate for reduction in cell size,

SUBMITTER: Honda T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9478672 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature