Skip to main content

Fast, Multiphase Volume Adaptation to Hyperosmotic Shock by Escherichia coli

Author(s): Pilizota, Teuta; Shaevitz, Joshua W

Download
To refer to this page use: http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/pr1gw3n
Abstract: All living cells employ an array of different mechanisms to help them survive changes in extra cellular osmotic pressure. The difference in the concentration of chemicals in a bacterium’s cytoplasm and the external environment generates an osmotic pressure that inflates the cell. It is thought that the bacterium Escherichia coli use a number of interconnected systems to adapt to changes in external pressure, allowing them to maintain turgor and live in surroundings that range more than two- hundred-fold in external osmolality. Here, we use fluorescence imaging to make the first measurements of cell volume changes over time during hyperosmotic shock and subsequent adaptation on a single cell level in vivo with a time resolution on the order of seconds. We directly observe two previously unseen phases of the cytoplasmic water efflux upon hyperosmotic shock. Furthermore, we monitor cell volume changes during the post-shock recovery and observe a two- phase response that depends on the shock magnitude. The initial phase of recovery is fast, on the order of 15–20 min and shows little cell-to-cell variation. For large sucrose shocks, a secondary phase that lasts several hours adds to the recovery. We find that cells are able to recover fully from shocks as high as 1 Osmol/kg using existing systems, but that for larger shocks, protein synthesis is required for full recovery.
Publication Date: 13-Apr-2012
Electronic Publication Date: 13-Apr-2012
Citation: Pilizota, Teuta, Shaevitz, Joshua W. (2012). Fast, Multiphase Volume Adaptation to Hyperosmotic Shock by Escherichia coli. PLoS ONE, 7 (4), e35205 - e35205. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0035205
DOI: doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0035205
EISSN: 1932-6203
Pages: e35205 - e35205
Type of Material: Journal Article
Journal/Proceeding Title: PLoS ONE
Version: Final published version. This is an open access article.



Items in OAR@Princeton are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.