New! Sign up for our free email newsletter.
Science News
from research organizations

Bacterial colonies evolve amazing diversity

Date:
June 30, 2014
Source:
American Society for Microbiology
Summary:
Like human societies -- think New York City -- bacterial colonies have immense diversity among their inhabitants, often generated in the absence of specific selection pressures, according to a new article.
Share:
FULL STORY

Like human societies--think New York City--bacterial colonies have immense diversity among their inhabitants, often generated in the absence of specific selection pressures, according to a paper published ahead of print in the Journal of Bacteriology.

Microbiologists have long been aware of this phenomenon, and they credit it as a reason microbes have been able to colonize almost every conceivable terrestrial habitat from underground Antarctic lakes to hot springs to intensely radioactive pools, says corresponding author Ivan Matic, of INSERM, Paris. But none had tried to track it at the level of single cells.

"By using up to date experimental tools that allowed us to follow individual living cells, we were able to enter into this amazing, beautiful world of bacterial multicellular structures," says Matic. "We observed massive phenotypic diversification in aging Escherichia coli colonies. Some variants showed improved capacity to produce biofilms, whereas others were able to use different nutrients, or to tolerate antibiotics, or oxidative stress, compared to the ancestral strain."

In the study, the researchers started each colony with a small number of identical cells, and observed them as they grew and as the colony aged. An aging colony is one where growth has stopped, because nutrients have been exhausted and/or toxins have accumulated.

"At this point most cells in the colony stop dividing and dead cells accumulate," says Matic.

Even in the growth phase, a colony is environmentally diverse. For example, since it grows on a solid medium, nutrients diffuse from the bottom up, resulting in a nutritional gradient with lower levels at greater elevation above the medium. Similarly, oxygen and UV radiation decline with distance from the colony's surface, so that cells close to the top have ample oxygen, while those well below exist under anaerobic conditions.

In the elderly colony, the rising toxins and falling nutrients are also not homogeneously distributed. For example, despite general nutrient depletion, new nutrients become available from dead cells.

"We showed that the rare survivors of a senescent colony are very diverse and are different from their ancestors," says Matic. "We found different metabolic capacities, different levels of stress resistance, improved capacity to produce biofilms, and the ability to use different nutrients. Some of these capacities probably evolved due to obvious selection pressures, such as utilization of alternative energy sources."


Story Source:

Materials provided by American Society for Microbiology. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Claude Saint-Ruf, Meriem Garfa-Traoré, Valérie Collin, Corinne Cordier, Christine Franceschi, and Ivan Matic. Massive diversification in aging colonies of Escherichia coli. J. Bacteriol., 30 June 2014 DOI: 10.1128/JB.01421-13

Cite This Page:

American Society for Microbiology. "Bacterial colonies evolve amazing diversity." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 30 June 2014. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/06/140630124413.htm>.
American Society for Microbiology. (2014, June 30). Bacterial colonies evolve amazing diversity. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 18, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/06/140630124413.htm
American Society for Microbiology. "Bacterial colonies evolve amazing diversity." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/06/140630124413.htm (accessed March 18, 2024).

Explore More

from ScienceDaily

RELATED STORIES