scholarly journals A bet-hedging strategy for denitrifying bacteria curtails their release of N2O

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (46) ◽  
pp. 11820-11825 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pawel Lycus ◽  
Manuel Jesús Soriano-Laguna ◽  
Morten Kjos ◽  
David John Richardson ◽  
Andrew James Gates ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Paracoccus Denitrificans ◽  
Anaerobic Respiration ◽  
Denitrifying Bacteria ◽  
No Production ◽  
Bet Hedging ◽  
Persister Cells ◽  
Hedging Strategy ◽  
En Bloc ◽  
Fitness Trait ◽  
Phenotypic Diversification

When oxygen becomes limiting, denitrifying bacteria must prepare for anaerobic respiration by synthesizing the reductases NAR (NO3−→ NO2−), NIR (NO2−→ NO), NOR (2NO → N2O), and NOS (N2O → N2), eitheren blocor sequentially, to avoid entrapment in anoxia without energy. Minimizing the metabolic burden of this precaution is a plausible fitness trait, and we show that the model denitrifierParacoccus denitrificansachieves this by synthesizing NOS in all cells, while only a minority synthesize NIR. Phenotypic diversification with regards to NIR is ascribed to stochastic initiation of gene transcription, which becomes autocatalytic via NO production. Observed gas kinetics suggest that such bet hedging is widespread among denitrifying bacteria. Moreover, in response to oxygenation,P. denitrificanspreserves NIR in the poles of nongrowing persister cells, ready to switch to anaerobic respiration in response to sudden anoxia. Our findings add dimensions to the regulatory biology of denitrification and identify regulatory traits that decrease N2O emissions.

scholarly journals Individual reversible plasticity as a genotype‐level bet‐hedging strategy

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas R. Haaland ◽  
Jonathan Wright ◽  
Irja I. Ratikainen
Keyword(s):  
Bet Hedging ◽  
Hedging Strategy

scholarly journals Erythropoietin Produces a Dual Effect on Carotid Body Chemoreception in Male Rats

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Arias-Reyes ◽  
Sofien Laouafa ◽  
Natalia Zubieta-DeUrioste ◽  
Vincent Joseph ◽  
Aida Bairam ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Carotid Body ◽  
No Synthase ◽  
Male Rats ◽  
High Dose ◽  
No Production ◽  
Sprague Dawley ◽  
En Bloc ◽  
No Synthase Inhibitor ◽  
Sprague Dawley Rats ◽  
Synthase Inhibitor

Erythropoietin (EPO) regulates respiration under conditions of normoxia and hypoxia through interaction with the respiratory centers of the brainstem. Here we investigate the dose-dependent impact of EPO in the CB response to hypoxia and hypercapnia. We show, in isolated “en bloc” carotid body (CB) preparations containing the carotid sinus nerve (CSN) from adult male Sprague Dawley rats, that EPO acts as a stimulator of CSN activity in response to hypoxia at concentrations below 0.5 IU/ml. Under hypercapnic conditions, EPO did not influence the CSN response. EPO concentrations above 0.5 IU/ml decreased the response of the CSN to both hypoxia and hypercapnia, reaching complete inhibition at 2 IU/ml. The inhibitory action of high-dose EPO on the CSN activity might result from an increase in nitric oxide (NO) production. Accordingly, CB preparations were incubated with 2 IU/ml EPO and the unspecific NO synthase inhibitor (L-NAME), or the neuronal-specific NO synthase inhibitor (7NI). Both NO inhibitors fully restored the CSN activity in response to hypoxia and hypercapnia in presence of EPO. Our results show that EPO activates the CB response to hypoxia when its concentration does not exceed the threshold at which NO inhibitors masks EPO’s action.

scholarly journals Different resource allocation in a Bacillus subtilis population displaying bimodal motility

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Syvertsson ◽  
Biwen Wang ◽  
Jojet Staal ◽  
Yongqiang Gao ◽  
Remco Kort ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Bacillus Subtilis ◽  
Exponential Growth ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Feedback Regulation ◽  
Bet Hedging ◽  
Hedging Strategy ◽  
Negative Feedback Regulation ◽  
Continuous Increase ◽  
Motile Cells

To cope with sudden changes in their environment, bacteria can use a bet-hedging strategy by dividing the population into cells with different properties. This so-called bimodal or bistable cellular differentiation is generally controlled by positive feedback regulation of transcriptional activators. Due to the continuous increase in cell volume, it is difficult for these activators to reach an activation threshold concentration when cells are growing exponentially. This is one reason why bimodal differentiation is primarily observed from the onset of the stationary phase when exponential growth ceases. An exception is the bimodal induction of motility in Bacillus subtilis, which occurs early during exponential growth. Several mechanisms have been put forward to explain this, including double negative-feedback regulation and the stability of the mRNA molecules involved. In this study, we used fluorescence-assisted cell sorting to compare the transcriptome of motile and non-motile cells and noted that expression of ribosomal genes is lower in motile cells. This was confirmed using an unstable GFP reporter fused to the strong ribosomal rpsD promoter. We propose that the reduction in ribosomal gene expression in motile cells is the result of a diversion of cellular resources to the synthesis of the chemotaxis and motility systems. In agreement, single-cell microscopic analysis showed that motile cells are slightly shorter than non-motile cells, an indication of slower growth. We speculate that this growth rate reduction can contribute to the bimodal induction of motility during exponential growth. IMPORTANCE To cope with sudden environmental changes, bacteria can use a bet-hedging strategy and generate different types of cells within a population, so called bimodal differentiation. For example, a Bacillus subtilis culture can contain both motile and non-motile cells. In this study we compared the gene expression between motile and non-motile cells. It appeared that motile cells express less ribosomes. To confirm this, we constructed a ribosomal promoter fusion that enabled us to measure expression of this promoter in individual cells. This reporter fusion confirmed our initial finding. The re-allocation of cellular resources from ribosome synthesis towards synthesis of the motility apparatus results in a reduction in growth. Interestingly, this growth reduction has been shown to stimulate bimodal differentiation.

scholarly journals Assessing the Impact of Denitrifier-Produced Nitric Oxide on Other Bacteria

2006 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
pp. 2200-2205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter S. Choi ◽  
Zeki Naal ◽  
Charles Moore ◽  
Emerilis Casado-Rivera ◽  
Hector D. Abruña ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nitric Oxide ◽  
Paracoccus Denitrificans ◽  
Nitrate Respiration ◽  
No Production ◽  
Response Gene ◽  
Surrounding Environment ◽  
Zones Of Inhibition ◽  
Series Of Experiments ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Stress Response Gene

ABSTRACT A series of experiments was undertaken to learn more about the impact on other bacteria of nitric oxide (NO) produced during denitrification. The denitrifier Rhodobacter sphaeroides 2.4.3 was chosen as a denitrifier for these experiments. To learn more about NO production by this bacterium, NO levels during denitrification were measured by using differential mass spectrometry. This revealed that NO levels produced during nitrate respiration by this bacterium were in the low μM range. This concentration of NO is higher than that previously measured in denitrifiers, including Achromobacter cycloclastes and Paracoccus denitrificans. Therefore, both 2.4.3 and A. cycloclastes were used in this work to compare the effects of various NO levels on nondenitrifying bacteria. By use of bacterial overlays, it was found that the NO generated by A. cycloclastes and 2.4.3 cells during denitrification inhibited the growth of both Bacillus subtilis and R. sphaeroides 2.4.1 but that R. sphaeroides 2.4.3 caused larger zones of inhibition in the overlays than A. cycloclastes. Both R. sphaeroides 2.4.3 and A. cycloclastes induced the expression of the NO stress response gene hmp in B. subtilis. Taken together, these results indicate that there is variability in the NO concentrations produced by denitrifiers, but, irrespective of the NO levels produced, microbes in the surrounding environment were responsive to the NO produced during denitrification.

scholarly journals Costs and benefits of maternally inherited algal symbionts in coral larvae

2017 ◽  
Vol 284 (1857) ◽  
pp. 20170852 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valérie F. Chamberland ◽  
Kelly R. W. Latijnhouwers ◽  
Jef Huisman ◽  
Aaron C. Hartmann ◽  
Mark J. A. Vermeij
Keyword(s):  
Marine Invertebrates ◽  
Costs And Benefits ◽  
Bet Hedging ◽  
Hedging Strategy ◽  
Coral Larvae ◽  
Stony Coral ◽  
Algal Symbionts ◽  
Settlement Success ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Endosymbiotic Algae

Many marine invertebrates provide their offspring with symbionts. Yet the consequences of maternally inherited symbionts on larval fitness remain largely unexplored. In the stony coral Favia fragum (Esper 1797), mothers produce larvae with highly variable amounts of endosymbiotic algae, and we examined the implications of this variation in symbiont density on the performance of F. fragum larvae under different environmental scenarios. High symbiont densities prolonged the period that larvae actively swam and searched for suitable settlement habitats. Thermal stress reduced survival and settlement success in F. fragum larvae, whereby larvae with high symbiont densities suffered more from non-lethal stress and were five times more likely to die compared with larvae with low symbiont densities. These results show that maternally inherited algal symbionts can be either beneficial or harmful to coral larvae depending on the environmental conditions at hand, and suggest that F. fragum mothers use a bet-hedging strategy to minimize risks associated with spatio-temporal variability in their offspring's environment.

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