Active efflux leads to heterogeneous dissipation of proton motive force by protonophores in bacteria

Dai Le, Ekaterina Krasnopeeva, Faris Sinjab, Teuta Pilizota, Minsu Kim

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

Various toxic compounds disrupt bacterial physiology. While bacteria harbor defense mechanisms to mitigate the toxicity, these mechanisms are often coupled to the physiological state of the cells and become ineffective when the physiology is severely disrupted. Here, we characterized such feedback by exposing Escherichia coli to protonophores. Protonophores dissipate the proton motive force (PMF), a fundamental force that drives physiological functions. We found that E. coli cells responded to protonophores heterogeneously, resulting in bimodal distributions of cell growth, substrate transport, and motility. Furthermore, we showed that this heterogeneous response required active efflux systems. The analysis of underlying interactions indicated the heterogeneous response results from efflux-mediated positive feedback between PMF and protonophore’s action. Our studies have broad implications for bacterial adaptation to stress, including antibiotics.
Original languageEnglish
Article numbere00676-21
Number of pages9
JournalmBio
Volume12
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 13 Jul 2021

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • bacterial physiology
  • single cell microscopy
  • cell to cell heterogeneity
  • efflux pumps
  • proton motive force
  • protonophore

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