Flow cytometric analysis of prolonged stress-dependent heterogeneity in bacterial cells.
When bacterial cells are subjected to stress, cellular and population characteristics can change significantly. Rapid acquisition of these properties of cells in their native physiological state is necessary in order to precisely interpret their survival modes. The multiparametric analytical capability of flow cytometry allows us to acquire these data instantaneously. In this study, the temporal cellular and population distribution analyzed by flow cytometry for periods >500 h under osmotic stress revealed that bacterial cells were diversified into more than seven different subpopulations that differed in their intracellular DNA levels. It was also revealed that individual subpopulations attained a final surviving mode devoid of any intermittent or interdependent stages within themselves. Hence, bacterial cells were subjected to rigorous spontaneous metastable (nonequilibrium) variations in their cellular and population characteristics before reaching an equilibrium state, which allowed them to prolong their survival under stress, as revealed by robust flow cytometric analysis, in their native physiological state(s).
Sachidanandham
Ramaiah
R
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. ram@ntu.edu.sg
Gin
Karina Yew-Hoong
KY
D004754:Enterobacter / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D050296:Microbial Viability; D013312:Stress, Physiological