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Short- and long-term biomarkers for bacterial robustness: a framework for quantifying correlations between cellular
Heidy M W den Besten1, Aarathi Arvind, Heidi M S Gaballo
1Top Institute Food and Nutrition, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Plos One
|November 10, 2010
Summary
This study identifies cellular biomarkers that predict how microbial robustness increases after mild stress exposure. These biomarkers help forecast microbial adaptation to environmental changes and lethal stresses.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Systems Biology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Microbial adaptation to environmental changes is complex and difficult to predict.
- Cellular biomarkers are needed to quantify stress-adaptive behaviors and predict microbial responses.
- Understanding history-dependent microbial behavior is crucial for predicting their adaptive traits.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a framework for identifying cellular biomarkers of mild stress-induced microbial robustness.
- To quantitatively assess candidate biomarkers and their correlation with enhanced robustness against lethal stresses.
- To establish predictive cellular indicators for microbial adaptive traits.
Main Methods:
- Compared genome-wide transcriptome profiles of Bacillus cereus under mild stress conditions (heat, acid, salt, oxidative).
- Quantitatively determined candidate biomarkers (transcriptional regulators, enzymes, chaperones, proteases) at transcript, protein, and activity levels.
- Correlated biomarker responses to mild stress-induced robustness against lethal stresses (heat, acid, oxidative).
Main Results:
- Identified both short- and long-term biomarkers whose induction levels correlate with enhanced robustness to lethal stresses.
- Demonstrated that these biomarkers are predictive cellular indicators of mild stress-induced enhanced robustness.
- Found that identified biomarkers are consistently induced and ubiquitous, suggesting broader applicability beyond Bacillus cereus.
Conclusions:
- A quantitative framework was established for identifying and evaluating predictive cellular biomarkers of microbial robustness.
- The identified biomarkers can serve as early indicators for detecting and predicting microbial adaptive traits.
- This approach facilitates a better understanding and prediction of microbial responses to environmental challenges.
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