title: Real-time molecular monitoring of chemical environment in obligate anaerobes during oxygen adaptive response.
abstract: Determining the transient chemical properties of the intracellular environment can elucidate the paths through which a biological system adapts to changes in its environment, for example, the mechanisms that enable some obligate anaerobic bacteria to survive a sudden exposure to oxygen. Here we used high-resolution Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectromicroscopy to continuously follow cellular chemistry within living obligate anaerobes by monitoring hydrogen bond structures in their cellular water. We observed a sequence of well orchestrated molecular events that correspond to changes in cellular processes in those cells that survive, but only accumulation of radicals in those that do not. We thereby can interpret the adaptive response in terms of transient intracellular chemistry and link it to oxygen stress and survival. This ability to monitor chemical changes at the molecular level can yield important insights into a wide range of adaptive responses.
authors.affiliation: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, One Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. hyholman@lbl.gov
authors.forename: Hoi-Ying N
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Holman
authors.forename: Eleanor
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Wozei
authors.forename: Zhang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Luis R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Comolli
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Ball
authors.forename: Sharon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Borglin
authors.forename: Matthew W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Fields
authors.forename: Terry C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Hazen
authors.forename: Kenneth H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Downing
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D016969:Desulfovibrio vulgaris / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D006860:Hydrogen Bonding; D010100:Oxygen / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D013312:Stress, Physiological; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D014867:Water; D010100:Oxygen