Stochastic Receptor Expression Allows Sensitive Bacteria to Evade Phage Attack. Part II: Theoretical Analyses

@article{citeulike:2800104, abstract = {Stochastic gene expression in bacteria can create a diverse protein distribution. Most of the current studies have focused on fluctuations around the mean, which constitutes the majority of a bacterial population. However, when the bacterial population is subject to a severe selection pressure, it is the properties of the minority cells that determine the fate of the population. The central question is whether phenotype heterogeneity, such as a spread in the expression level of a critical protein, is sufficient to account for the persistence of the bacteria under the selection. A related question is how long such persistence can last before genetic mutation becomes significant. In this work, survival statistics of a bacterial population with a diverse phage-receptor number distribution is theoretically investigated when the cells are subject to phage pressures. The calculations are compared with our experimental observations presented in Part I in this issue. The fundamental basis of our analysis is the Berg-Purcell theoretical result for the reaction rate between a phage particle and a bacterium with a discrete number of receptors, and the observation that most phage-resistant mutants isolated in laboratory cultures are defective in phage binding. It is shown that a heterogeneous bacterial population is significantly more fit compared to a homogeneous population when confronting a phage attack. 10.1529/biophysj.107.121723}, author = {Chapman-Mcquiston, E. and Wu, X. L. }, citeulike-article-id = {2800104}, doi = {10.1529/biophysj.107.121723}, journal = {Biophys. J.}, keywords = {bacteria, e\_coli, persister, phenotypic\_heterogeneity, receptor, stochastic}, month = {June}, number = {11}, pages = {4537--4548}, posted-at = {2008-05-14 22:45:00}, priority = {2}, title = {Stochastic Receptor Expression Allows Sensitive Bacteria to Evade Phage Attack. Part II: Theoretical Analyses}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1529/biophysj.107.121723}, volume = {94}, year = {2008} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:2800104 L3 - citeulike-article-id:2800104 TI - Stochastic Receptor Expression Allows Sensitive Bacteria to Evade Phage Attack. Part II: Theoretical Analyses JF - Biophys. J. VL - 94 IS - 11 SP - 4537 EP - 4548 N2 - Stochastic gene expression in bacteria can create a diverse protein distribution. Most of the current studies have focused on fluctuations around the mean, which constitutes the majority of a bacterial population. However, when the bacterial population is subject to a severe selection pressure, it is the properties of the minority cells that determine the fate of the population. The central question is whether phenotype heterogeneity, such as a spread in the expression level of a critical protein, is sufficient to account for the persistence of the bacteria under the selection. A related question is how long such persistence can last before genetic mutation becomes significant. In this work, survival statistics of a bacterial population with a diverse phage-receptor number distribution is theoretically investigated when the cells are subject to phage pressures. The calculations are compared with our experimental observations presented in Part I in this issue. The fundamental basis of our analysis is the Berg-Purcell theoretical result for the reaction rate between a phage particle and a bacterium with a discrete number of receptors, and the observation that most phage-resistant mutants isolated in laboratory cultures are defective in phage binding. It is shown that a heterogeneous bacterial population is significantly more fit compared to a homogeneous population when confronting a phage attack. 10.1529/biophysj.107.121723 KW - bacteria KW - e_coli KW - persister KW - phenotypic_heterogeneity KW - receptor KW - stochastic AU - Chapman-Mcquiston, E AU - Wu, XL PY - 2008/06/01/ UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1529/biophysj.107.121723 ER -