Sperfeld Martin, Narváez-Barragán Delia A, Malitsky Sergey, Frydman Veronica, Yuda Lilach, Rocha Jorge, Segev Einat
bioRxiv. 2024 Apr 8:2023.06.06.543872. doi: 10.1101/2023.06.06.543872.
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 when it transitions from starvation to growth with a microalgal partner. Utilizing transcriptomics and 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.
细菌的延迟期是恢复生长的关键时期。尽管其具有重要意义，但延迟期仍未得到充分研究，尤其是在环境细菌中。在此，我们探究了模式海洋细菌在与微藻伙伴从饥饿状态转变为生长状态时的延迟期。利用转录组学和碳标记代谢组学，我们的研究表明，微藻大量产生的甲基化化合物缩短了细菌的延迟期。我们的发现强调了甲基基团作为延迟期限制因素的重要性，并证明甲基基团可以从藻类化合物中获取并通过甲硫氨酸循环同化。此外，我们表明，光合生物特有的甲基化化合物会使与藻类和植物相关的细菌之间的延迟时间产生不同程度的缩短。这些发现突出了细菌延迟期的可调节性，并强调了在环境背景下研究细菌的重要性。
细菌利用藻类化合物作为代谢捷径，从饥饿状态转变为生长状态。
