An alternative resource allocation strategy in the chemolithoautotrophic archaeon <i>Methanococcus maripaludis</i>
Albert Müller, Wenyu Gu, Vadim Patsalo, Jörg S. Deutzmann, James R. Williamson, Alfred M. Spormann
Abstract
Significance Most of our knowledge about microbial physiology originates from studying fast-growing, heterotrophic bacteria. Yet, microorganisms are energy-limited in many natural environments and grow slowly or persist in a nongrowing state. Microorganisms adapted to oligotrophic lifestyles are phylogenetically diverse and often possess biochemically unique and highly niche-specialized metabolisms. In a systems-level study, we discovered a strategy for acclimation to slow growth in a chemolithoautotrophic archaeon. In contrast to relying on gene regulation like metabolically versatile, heterotrophic model bacteria such as Escherichia coli , Methanococcus maripaludis responds to energy limitation by redistributing energy for cellular maintenance and changing catabolic and ribosomal activities. The alternative resource allocation strategy presented here does not follow the canonical growth rate–dependent physiological regulations.