Leisner Madeleine, Stingl Kerstin, Frey Erwin, Maier Berenike
Institut für Allgemeine Zoologie und Genetik, Westfälische Wilhelms Universität, Schlossplatz 5, 48149 Münster, Germany.
Curr Opin Microbiol. 2008 Dec;11(6):553-9. doi: 10.1016/j.mib.2008.09.020. Epub 2008 Nov 7.
Distinct modes of gene expression enable isogenic populations of bacteria to maintain a diversity of phenotypes and to rapidly adapt to environmental changes. Competence development for DNA transformation in Bacillus subtilis has become a paradigm for a multimodal system which implements a genetic switch through a nonlinear positive feedback of a transcriptional master regulator. Recent advances in quantitative analysis at the single cell level in conjunction with mathematical modeling allowed a molecular level understanding of the switching probability between the noncompetent state and the competent state. It has been discovered that the genetic switching probability may be tuned by controlling noise in the transcription of the master regulator of competence, by timing of its expression, and by rewiring of the control circuit.
不同的基因表达模式使同基因的细菌群体能够维持表型多样性，并迅速适应环境变化。枯草芽孢杆菌中用于DNA转化的感受态发育已成为一个多模式系统的范例，该系统通过转录主调节因子的非线性正反馈来实现遗传开关。单细胞水平定量分析与数学建模的最新进展，使人们能够从分子水平理解非感受态和感受态之间的转换概率。人们发现，遗传转换概率可以通过控制感受态主调节因子转录中的噪声、其表达的时间以及控制电路的重新布线来进行调节。
