A Broad Continuum of E. coli Traits in Nature Associated with the Trade-off Between Self-preservation and Nutritional Competence

To swim up gradients of nutrients, E. coli senses nutrient concentrations within its periplasm. For small nutrient molecules, periplasmic concentrations typically match extracellular concentrations. However, this is not necessarily the case for saccharides, such as maltose, which is transported into the periplasm via a specific porin. Previous observations have shown that under various conditions E. coli limits maltoporin abundance so that, for extracellular micromolar concentrations of maltose, there are predicted to be only nanomolar concentrations of free maltose in the periplasm. Thus, in the micromolar regime, the total uptake of maltose from the external environment into the cytoplasm is limited not by the abundance of cytoplasmic transport proteins but by the abundance of maltoporins. Here we present results from experiments and modeling showing that this porin-limited transport enables E. coli to sense micromolar gradients of maltose despite having a high-affinity ABC transport system that is saturated at these micromolar levels. We used microfluidic assays to study chemotaxis of E. coli in various gradients of maltose and methyl-aspartate and leveraged our experimental observations to develop a mechanistic transport-and-sensing chemotaxis model. Incorporating this model into agent-based simulations, we discover a trade-off between uptake and sensing: although high-affinity transport enables higher uptake rates at low nutrient concentrations, it severely limits dynamic sensing range. We thus propose that E. coli may limit periplasmic uptake to increase its chemotactic sensitivity, enabling it to use maltose as an environmental cue.

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Experimental Tests for an Evolutionary Trade-off between Growth Rate and Yield in E. coli

The American Naturalist ◽

10.2307/3844729 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 168 (2) ◽

pp. 242 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Novak ◽

Pfeiffer ◽

Lenski ◽

Sauer ◽

Bonhoeffer

Keyword(s):

Growth Rate ◽

Experimental Tests ◽

Trade Off ◽

E Coli

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Kinetic Proofreading and the Limits of Thermodynamic Uncertainty

10.1101/845164 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

William D. Piñeros ◽

Tsvi Tlusty

Keyword(s):

Dna Polymerase ◽

Performance Enhancement ◽

Product Formation ◽

Production Networks ◽

Noisy Environment ◽

Trade Off ◽

E Coli ◽

Desirable Output ◽

Kinetic Proofreading ◽

Accuracy Speed

To mitigate errors induced by the cell’s heterogeneous noisy environment, its main information channels and production networks utilize the kinetic proofreading (KPR) mechanism. Here, we examine two extensively-studied KPR circuits, DNA replication by the T7 DNA polymerase and translation by the E. coli ribosome. Using experimental data, we analyze the performance of these two vital systems in light of the fundamental bounds set by the recently-discovered thermodynamic uncertainty relation (TUR), which places an inherent trade-off between the precision of a desirable output and the amount of energy dissipation required. We show that the DNA polymerase operates close to the TUR lower bound, while the ribosome operates ~ 5 times farther from this bound. This difference originates from the enhanced binding discrimination of the polymerase which allows it to operate effectively as a reduced reaction cycle prioritizing correct product formation. We show that approaching this limit also decouples the thermodynamic uncertainty factor from speed and error, thereby relaxing the accuracy-speed trade-off of the system. Altogether, our results show that operating near this reduced cycle limit not only minimizes thermodynamic uncertainty, but also results in global performance enhancement of KPR circuits.

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The Arginine Deiminase Operon Is Responsible for a Fitness Trade-Off in Extended-Spectrum-β-Lactamase-Producing Strains ofEscherichia coli

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy ◽

10.1128/aac.00635-19 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 63 (8) ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Typhaine Billard-Pomares ◽

Olivier Clermont ◽

Miguel Castellanos ◽

Fatma Magdoud ◽

Guilhem Royer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mouse Model ◽

Arginine Deiminase ◽

Epidemiological Surveillance ◽

Trade Off ◽

Content Type ◽

E Coli ◽

Gram Positive Bacteria ◽

Extended Spectrum

ABSTRACTWe previously identified an operon involved in an arginine deiminase (ADI) pathway (arcoperon) on a CTX-M-producing plasmid from an O102-ST405 strain ofEscherichia coli. As the ADI pathway was shown to be involved in the virulence of various Gram-positive bacteria, we tested whether the ADI pathway could be involved in the epidemiological success of extended-spectrum-β-lactamase (ESBL)-producingE. colistrains. We studied two collections of humanE. coliisolated in France (n = 493) and England (n = 1,509) and show that the prevalence of thearcoperon (i) is higher in ESBL-producing strains (12.1%) than in nonproducers (2.5%), (ii) is higher in CTX-M-producing strains (16%) than in other ESBL producers (3.5%), and (iii) increased over time in ESBL-producing strains from 0% before 2000 to 43.3% in 2011 to 2012. Thearcoperon, found in strains from various phylogenetic backgrounds, is carried by IncF plasmids (85%) or chromosomes (15%) in regions framed by numerous insertion sequences, indicating multiple arrivals. Competition experiments showed that thearcoperon enhances fitness of the strainin vitroin lysogeny broth with arginine.In vivocompetition experiments showed that thearcoperon is advantageous for the strain in a mouse model of urinary tract infection (UTI), whereas it is a burden in a mouse model of intestinal colonization. In summary, we have identified a trait linked to CTX-M-producing strains that is responsible for a trade-off between two mainE. colilifestyles, UTI and gut commensalism. This trait alone cannot explain the wide spread of ESBLs inE. colibut merits epidemiological surveillance.

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Endotoxin Alteration of the Mucopolysaccharide Blood Vessel Coating in Rats

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100050755 ◽

1974 ◽

Vol 32 ◽

pp. 148-149

Author(s):

D. E. Philpott ◽

A. Takahashi

Keyword(s):

Skeletal Muscle ◽

Endothelial Cells ◽

Salivary Gland ◽

Carotid Artery ◽

Basement Membrane ◽

Coronary Vessels ◽

Ruthenium Red ◽

E Coli ◽

Old Rats ◽

The Brain

Two month, eight month and two year old rats were treated with 10 or 20 mg/kg of E. Coli endotoxin I. P. The eight month old rats proved most resistant to the endotoxin. During fixation the aorta, carotid artery, basil arartery of the brain, coronary vessels of the heart, inner surfaces of the heart chambers, heart and skeletal muscle, lung, liver, kidney, spleen, brain, retina, trachae, intestine, salivary gland, adrenal gland and gingiva were treated with ruthenium red or alcian blue to preserve the mucopolysaccharide (MPS) coating. Five, 8 and 24 hrs of endotoxin treatment produced increasingly marked capillary damage, disappearance of the MPS coating, edema, destruction of endothelial cells and damage to the basement membrane in the liver, kidney and lung.

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Ribosome Structural Organization

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100051670 ◽

1974 ◽

Vol 32 ◽

pp. 332-333

Author(s):

James A. Lake

Keyword(s):

Ribosomal Proteins ◽

Structural Organization ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Small Subunit ◽

Structural Studies ◽

X Ray Diffraction ◽

Specific Antibodies ◽

X Ray ◽

E Coli ◽

Complete Sequences

The understanding of ribosome structure has advanced considerably in the last several years. Biochemists have characterized the constituent proteins and rRNA's of ribosomes. Complete sequences have been determined for some ribosomal proteins and specific antibodies have been prepared against all E. coli small subunit proteins. In addition, a number of naturally occuring systems of three dimensional ribosome crystals which are suitable for structural studies have been observed in eukaryotes. Although the crystals are, in general, too small for X-ray diffraction, their size is ideal for electron microscopy.

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Sites of Adsorption of the Bacteriophages T3 and T5 on the Wall of Escherichia Coli B.

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100060490 ◽

1967 ◽

Vol 25 ◽

pp. 96-97

Author(s):

Manfred E. Bayer

Keyword(s):

Escherichia Coli ◽

Cell Wall ◽

Electron Microscope ◽

Uranyl Acetate ◽

E Coli ◽

Receptor Sites ◽

Rigid Cell Wall ◽

Host Cell Surface ◽

Bacterial Viruses ◽

Escherichia Coli B

Bacterial viruses adsorb specifically to receptors on the host cell surface. Although the chemical composition of some of the cell wall receptors for bacteriophages of the T-series has been described and the number of receptor sites has been estimated to be 150 to 300 per E. coli cell, the localization of the sites on the bacterial wall has been unknown.When logarithmically growing cells of E. coli are transferred into a medium containing 20% sucrose, the cells plasmolize: the protoplast shrinks and becomes separated from the somewhat rigid cell wall. When these cells are fixed in 8% Formaldehyde, post-fixed in OsO4/uranyl acetate, embedded in Vestopal W, then cut in an ultramicrotome and observed with the electron microscope, the separation of protoplast and wall becomes clearly visible, (Fig. 1, 2). At a number of locations however, the protoplasmic membrane adheres to the wall even under the considerable pull of the shrinking protoplast. Thus numerous connecting bridges are maintained between protoplast and cell wall. Estimations of the total number of such wall/membrane associations yield a number of about 300 per cell.

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Emigration of neutrophils in the central nervous system

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100077517 ◽

1983 ◽

Vol 41 ◽

pp. 788-789

Author(s):

John L.Beggs ◽

John D. Waggener ◽

Wanda Miller ◽

Jane Watkins

Keyword(s):

Central Nervous System ◽

Nervous System ◽

Osmium Tetroxide ◽

White Blood Cells ◽

Arterial Perfusion ◽

E Coli ◽

Intracisternal Injection ◽

The Central Nervous System ◽

Brain And Spinal Cord ◽

Interendothelial Junctions

Studies using mesenteric and ear chamber preparations have shown that interendothelial junctions provide the route for neutrophil emigration during inflammation. The term emigration refers to the passage of white blood cells across the endothelium from the vascular lumen. Although the precise pathway of transendo- thelial emigration in the central nervous system (CNS) has not been resolved, the presence of different physiological and morphological (tight junctions) properties of CNS endothelium may dictate alternate emigration pathways.To study neutrophil emigration in the CNS, we induced meningitis in guinea pigs by intracisternal injection of E. coli bacteria.In this model, leptomeningeal inflammation is well developed by 3 hr. After 3 1/2 hr, animals were sacrificed by arterial perfusion with 3% phosphate buffered glutaraldehyde. Tissues from brain and spinal cord were post-fixed in 1% osmium tetroxide, dehydrated in alcohols and propylene oxide, and embedded in Epon. Thin serial sections were cut with diamond knives and examined in a Philips 300 electron microscope.

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