Availability of the Molecular Switch XylR Controls Phenotypic Heterogeneity and Lag Duration during Escherichia coli Adaptation from Glucose to Xylose
Manon Barthe, Josué Tchouanti, Pedro Gomes, Carine Bideaux, Delphine Lestrade, C. D. Graham, Jean‐Philippe Steyer, Sylvie Méléard, Jérôme Harmand, Nathalie Gorret, Muriel Cocaign‐Bousquet, Brice Enjalbert
Abstract
For decades, it was thought that the lags observed when microorganisms switch from one substrate to another are inherent to the time required to adapt the molecular machinery to the new substrate. Here, the lag duration was found to be the time necessary for a subpopulation of adapted cells to emerge and become the main population. By identifying the molecular mechanism controlling the subpopulation emergence, we were able to extend or reduce the duration of the lags. This work is of special importance since it demonstrates the unexpected complexity of monoclonal populations during growth on mixed substrates and provides novel mechanistic insights with regard to bacterial cellular adaptation.