Reducing the Bacterial Lag Phase Through Methylated Compounds: Insights from Algal-Bacterial Interactions
This article has been Reviewed by the following groups
Listed in
- Evaluated articles (Arcadia Science)
Abstract
The bacterial lag phase is a key period for resuming growth. Despite its significance, the lag phase remains underexplored, particularly in environmental bacteria. Here, we explore the lag phase of the model marine bacterium Phaeobacter inhibens when it transitions from starvation to growth with a microalgal partner. Utilizing transcriptomics and 13 C-labeled metabolomics, our study reveals that methylated compounds, which are abundantly produced by microalgae, shorten the bacterial lag phase. Our findings underscore the significance of methyl groups as a limiting factor during the lag phase and demonstrate that methyl groups can be harvested from algal compounds and assimilated through the methionine cycle. Furthermore, we show that methylated compounds, characteristic of photosynthetic organisms, induce variable reductions in lag times among bacteria associated with algae and plants. These findings highlight the adjustability of the bacterial lag phase and emphasize the importance of studying bacteria in an environmental context.
One-Sentence Summary:
Bacteria use algal compounds as a metabolic shortcut to transition from starvation to growth.
Article activity feed
-
Nevertheless, our study offers an initial demonstration of the tunability of the lag phase, highlighting the existing gap in our understanding of non-growing bacteria and the mechanisms facilitating their transition into growth.
Thank you for this very interesting work. The ability of bacteria to survive starvation and adapt to their environment is a very fascinating question.
-
harvesting methyl groups from host metabolites can provide a cost-effective metabolic shortcut.
While the authors mention in the introduction that the methyl compounds produced by the algae result from photosynthetic metabolism, I am wondering if there is anything known about other bacteria-algae interactions and whether algae benefit in any way from bacterial interactions.
-
the number of methyl groups per molecule
As number of methyl groups seem to impact how the duration of the lag phase decreases, I am wondering if the authors have tried to mix/combined different compounds and see if the total number of methyl groups adds up and shortens the lag phase even more (or reach saturation)?
-
Based on these calculations, it appears more plausible that methyl groups are assimilated during the lag phase to cover C1 group requirements, while the required ATP is generated from the glucose in the medium
I am wondering if there is any knowledge about storage compound accumulated by P. inhibens before the starvation phase. It has been previously shown in other organisms that such compounds can help provide the energetic requirements for metabolic switch or exiting lag phase. For instance, glycogen appears to be important for *E. coli * to maintain ATP requirement when switching from a glycolytic to a gluconeogenic metabolism (https://doi.org/10.1128/mbio.01628-17) or primary source of glucose in lag phase (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbapap.2012.06.010)
-
Fig. 3:
I am wondering if the authors have performed statistical tests for panels A and B to test whether the lag phase is significantly decreased in the presence of the different methylated compounds compared to the control culture. Even if the results are quite clear, it might be appropriate to add some statistical validation.
-
-