Cellular memory of rapid growth is sensitive to nutrient depletion during starvation.

ABSTRACT: Bacteria frequently encounter nutrient fluctuations in natural environments, yet we understand little about their ability to maintain physiological memory of previous food sources. Starvation is a particularly acute case, in which cells must balance adaptation to stresses with limited nutrient supply. Here, we show that Escherichia coli cells immediately accelerate and decelerate in growth upon transitions from spent to fresh media and vice versa, respectively, and memory of rapid growth can be maintained for many hours under constant flow of spent medium. However, after transient exposure of stationary-phase cells to fresh medium, subsequent aerobic incubation in increasingly spent medium led to lysis and limited growth when rejuvenated in fresh medium. Growth defects were avoided

SUBMITTER: Cesar S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9719910 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature