Enhancing bacterial survival through phenotypic heterogeneity

• Published in: PLoS pathogens Vol. 16; no. 5; p. e1008439
• Main Authors: Reyes Ruiz, Leila M., Williams, Caitlin L., Tamayo, Rita
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 01.05.2020; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Bacteria; Bacteria - genetics; Bacteria - metabolism; Bacteria - pathogenicity; Binding sites; Biofilms; Biological Variation, Population - genetics; Biological Variation, Population - physiology; Biology and Life Sciences; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; DNA methylation; E coli; Frameshift mutation; Gene expression; Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial - genetics; Heterogeneity; Immunology; Infections; Loci; Medicine and Health Sciences; Methylation; Methyltransferase; Mutation; Nonsense mutation; Nucleotide sequence; Nucleotides; Observations; Pearls; Phase variations; Phenotype; Phenotypes; Phenotypic variations; Pili; Population; Stop codon; Transcription; Transcription factors; Urinary tract; United States; North Carolina; United States > US
• ISSN: 1553-7374; 1553-7366; 1553-7374
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1008439

Variations in the number of nucleotides within an SSR in a coding sequence may cause a frameshift mutation that creates a premature stop codon and a truncated product (OFF) or, conversely, may restore the reading frame and production of the gene product (ON). [...]phase variation can be achieved by shuffling alleles of the same gene between an expressed locus and a distal, silent locus. Consistent with this result, phase-locked OFF mutants lacking fimbriae are attenuated in disease models of urinary tract infection [12, 13]. Some DNA methyltransferases, enzymes that methylate specific nucleotide motifs, are subject to phase variation, resulting in a population of bacteria with different methylation patterns. Because methylation can influence gene expression, methyltransferase phase variation can influence the transcription of multiple genes simultaneously.