Cell cycle dysregulation of globally important SAR11 bacteria resulting from environmental perturbation

Genome streamlining is hypothesized to occur in bacteria as an adaptation to resource-limited environments but can result in gene losses affecting fundamental aspects of cellular physiology. The most abundant marine microorganisms, SAR11 (order Pelagibacterales), exhibit canonical genome streamlining, but the consequences of this genotype on core cellular processes such as cell division remain unexplored. Here, analysis of 470 SAR11 genomes revealed widespread absence of key cell cycle control genes. Growth experiments demonstrated that although SAR11 bacteria maintain a normal cell cycle under oligotrophic conditions, they exhibit growth inhibition and aneuploidy when exposed to nutrient enrichment, carbon source shifts or temperature stress. Detailed growth measurements and antibiotic inhibition experiments showed that these phenotypes resulted from cell division disruption with continuing DNA replication, leading to heterogeneous subpopulations of normal and polyploid cells. This vulnerability raises questions about microbial genome evolution and the evolutionary trade-offs between adaptation to stable nutrient-limited conditions and physiological resilience.