Following the Fate of Bacterial Cells Experiencing Sudden Chromosome Loss

ABSTRACT Chromosomal DNA is a constant source of information, essential for any given cell to respond and adapt to changing conditions. Here, we investigated the fate of exponentially growing bacterial cells experiencing a sudden and rapid loss of their entire chromosome. Utilizing Bacillus subtilis...

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Autores principales:	Maya Elbaz, Sigal Ben-Yehuda
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	American Society for Microbiology 2015
Materias:	Microbiology QR1-502
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/e8f1313a0aa2442eb26056595e2b4f58
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:e8f1313a0aa2442eb26056595e2b4f582021-11-15T15:49:02ZFollowing the Fate of Bacterial Cells Experiencing Sudden Chromosome Loss10.1128/mBio.00092-152150-7511https://doaj.org/article/e8f1313a0aa2442eb26056595e2b4f582015-07-01T00:00:00Zhttps://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/mBio.00092-15https://doaj.org/toc/2150-7511ABSTRACT Chromosomal DNA is a constant source of information, essential for any given cell to respond and adapt to changing conditions. Here, we investigated the fate of exponentially growing bacterial cells experiencing a sudden and rapid loss of their entire chromosome. Utilizing Bacillus subtilis cells harboring an inducible copy of the endogenous toxin yqcG, which encodes an endonuclease, we induced the formation of a population of cells that lost their genetic information simultaneously. Surprisingly, these DNA-less cells, termed DLCs, did not lyse immediately and exhibited normal cellular morphology for a period of at least 5 h after DNA loss. This cellular integrity was manifested by their capacity to maintain an intact membrane and membrane potential and cell wall architecture similar to those of wild-type cells. Unlike growing cells that exhibit a dynamic profile of macromolecules, DLCs displayed steady protein and RNA reservoirs. Remarkably, following DLCs by time lapse microscopy revealed that they succeeded in synthesizing proteins, elongating, and dividing, apparently forming de novo Z rings at the midcell position. Taken together, the persistence of key cellular events in DLCs indicates that the information to carry out lengthy processes is harbored within the remaining molecular components. IMPORTANCE Perturbing bacterial growth by the use of antibiotics targeting replication, transcription, or translation has been a subject of study for many years; however, the consequences of a more dramatic event, in which the entire bacterial chromosome is lost, have not been described. Here, we followed the fate of bacterial cells encountering an abrupt loss of their entire genome. Surprisingly, the cells preserved an intact envelope and functioning macromolecules. Furthermore, cells lacking their genome could still elongate and divide hours after the loss of DNA. Our data suggest that the information stored in the transient reservoir of macromolecules is sufficient to carry out complex and lengthy processes even in the absence of the chromosome. Based on our study, the formation of DNA-less bacteria could serve as a novel vaccination strategy, enabling an efficient induction of the immune system without the risk of bacterial propagation within the host.Maya ElbazSigal Ben-YehudaAmerican Society for MicrobiologyarticleMicrobiologyQR1-502ENmBio, Vol 6, Iss 3 (2015)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Microbiology QR1-502
spellingShingle	Microbiology QR1-502 Maya Elbaz Sigal Ben-Yehuda Following the Fate of Bacterial Cells Experiencing Sudden Chromosome Loss
description	ABSTRACT Chromosomal DNA is a constant source of information, essential for any given cell to respond and adapt to changing conditions. Here, we investigated the fate of exponentially growing bacterial cells experiencing a sudden and rapid loss of their entire chromosome. Utilizing Bacillus subtilis cells harboring an inducible copy of the endogenous toxin yqcG, which encodes an endonuclease, we induced the formation of a population of cells that lost their genetic information simultaneously. Surprisingly, these DNA-less cells, termed DLCs, did not lyse immediately and exhibited normal cellular morphology for a period of at least 5 h after DNA loss. This cellular integrity was manifested by their capacity to maintain an intact membrane and membrane potential and cell wall architecture similar to those of wild-type cells. Unlike growing cells that exhibit a dynamic profile of macromolecules, DLCs displayed steady protein and RNA reservoirs. Remarkably, following DLCs by time lapse microscopy revealed that they succeeded in synthesizing proteins, elongating, and dividing, apparently forming de novo Z rings at the midcell position. Taken together, the persistence of key cellular events in DLCs indicates that the information to carry out lengthy processes is harbored within the remaining molecular components. IMPORTANCE Perturbing bacterial growth by the use of antibiotics targeting replication, transcription, or translation has been a subject of study for many years; however, the consequences of a more dramatic event, in which the entire bacterial chromosome is lost, have not been described. Here, we followed the fate of bacterial cells encountering an abrupt loss of their entire genome. Surprisingly, the cells preserved an intact envelope and functioning macromolecules. Furthermore, cells lacking their genome could still elongate and divide hours after the loss of DNA. Our data suggest that the information stored in the transient reservoir of macromolecules is sufficient to carry out complex and lengthy processes even in the absence of the chromosome. Based on our study, the formation of DNA-less bacteria could serve as a novel vaccination strategy, enabling an efficient induction of the immune system without the risk of bacterial propagation within the host.
format	article
author	Maya Elbaz Sigal Ben-Yehuda
author_facet	Maya Elbaz Sigal Ben-Yehuda
author_sort	Maya Elbaz
title	Following the Fate of Bacterial Cells Experiencing Sudden Chromosome Loss
title_short	Following the Fate of Bacterial Cells Experiencing Sudden Chromosome Loss
title_full	Following the Fate of Bacterial Cells Experiencing Sudden Chromosome Loss
title_fullStr	Following the Fate of Bacterial Cells Experiencing Sudden Chromosome Loss
title_full_unstemmed	Following the Fate of Bacterial Cells Experiencing Sudden Chromosome Loss
title_sort	following the fate of bacterial cells experiencing sudden chromosome loss
publisher	American Society for Microbiology
publishDate	2015
url	https://doaj.org/article/e8f1313a0aa2442eb26056595e2b4f58
work_keys_str_mv	AT mayaelbaz followingthefateofbacterialcellsexperiencingsuddenchromosomeloss AT sigalbenyehuda followingthefateofbacterialcellsexperiencingsuddenchromosomeloss
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Following the Fate of Bacterial Cells Experiencing Sudden Chromosome Loss

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