This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Vulic, M.
Right arrow Articles by Kolter, R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Vulic, M.
Right arrow Articles by Kolter, R.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Bacteriology, June 2002, p. 2898-2905, Vol. 184, No. 11
0021-9193/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JB.184.11.2898-2905.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Alcohol-Induced Delay of Viability Loss in Stationary-Phase Cultures of Escherichia coli

Marin Vulic,{dagger} and Roberto Kolter*

Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115

Received 23 October 2001/ Accepted 11 March 2002

During prolonged incubation in stationary phase Escherichia coli undergoes starvation-induced differentiation, resulting in highly resistant cells. In rich medium with high amino acid content further incubation of cultures at high cell density leads to the generation of a population of cells no longer able to form colonies. The viability loss is due to some component of spent medium, active at high pH and high cell density, and can be prevented either by keeping the pH close to neutrality, by washing off the nonsalt components of the medium, or by keeping the saturating cell density low. Exposure to short-chain n-alcohols within a specific time window in stationary phase also prevents viability loss, in an rpoS-dependent fashion. The development of stress resistance, a hallmark of stationary-phase cells, is affected following alcohol treatment, as is the response to extracellular factors in spent medium. Alcohols seem to block cells in an early phase of starvation-induced differentiation, most likely by interfering with processes important for regulation of {sigma}s such as cell density signals and sensing the nutrient content of the medium.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Harvard Medical School, 200 Longwood Ave., Boston, MA 02115. Phone: (617) 432-1766. Fax: (617) 738-7664. E-mail: rkolter{at}hms.harvard.edu.

{dagger} Present address: INSERM U571, Faculté de Médecine Necker, 75015 Paris, France.

Journal of Bacteriology, June 2002, p. 2898-2905, Vol. 184, No. 11
0021-9193/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JB.184.11.2898-2905.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Guillemet, M. L., Moreau, P. L. (2008). Fur-Dependent Detoxification of Organic Acids by rpoS Mutants during Prolonged Incubation under Aerobic, Phosphate Starvation Conditions. J. Bacteriol. 190: 5567-5575 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • King, T., Seeto, S., Ferenci, T. (2006). Genotype-by-Environment Interactions Influencing the Emergence of rpoS Mutations in Escherichia coli Populations. Genetics 172: 2071-2079 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Hicks, W. M., Kotlajich, M. V., Visick, J. E. (2005). Recovery from long-term stationary phase and stress survival in Escherichia coli require the L-isoaspartyl protein carboxyl methyltransferase at alkaline pH. Microbiology 151: 2151-2158 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Cuny, C., Dukan, L., Fraysse, L., Ballesteros, M., Dukan, S. (2005). Investigation of the First Events Leading to Loss of Culturability during Escherichia coli Starvation: Future Nonculturable Bacteria Form a Subpopulation. J. Bacteriol. 187: 2244-2248 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Conter, A. (2003). Plasmid DNA Supercoiling and Survival in Long-Term Cultures of Escherichia coli: Role of NaCl. J. Bacteriol. 185: 5324-5327 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Reyes-Dominguez, Y., Contreras-Ferrat, G., Ramirez-Santos, J., Membrillo-Hernandez, J., Gomez-Eichelmann, M. C. (2003). Plasmid DNA Supercoiling and Gyrase Activity in Escherichia coli Wild-Type and rpoS Stationary-Phase Cells. J. Bacteriol. 185: 1097-1100 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»