Algal methylated compounds shorten the lag phase of Phaeobacter inhibens bacteria

Martin Sperfeld, Delia A. Narváez-Barragán, Sergey Malitsky, Veronica Frydman, Lilach Yuda, Jorge Rocha, Einat Segev*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)
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Abstract

The lag phase is key in resuming bacterial growth, but it remains underexplored particularly in environmental bacteria. Here we use transcriptomics and 13C-labelled metabolomics to show that the lag phase of the model marine bacterium Phaeobacter inhibens is shortened by methylated compounds produced by the microalgal partner, Emiliania huxleyi. Methylated compounds are abundantly produced and released by microalgae, and we show that their methyl groups can be collected by bacteria and assimilated through the methionine cycle. Our findings underscore the significance of methyl groups as a limiting factor during the lag phase and highlight the adjustability of this growth phase. In addition, we show that methylated compounds, typical of photosynthetic organisms, prompt diverse reductions in lag times in bacteria associated with algae and plants, potentially favouring early growth in some bacteria. These findings suggest ways to accelerate bacterial growth and underscore the significance of studying bacteria within an environmental context.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2006-2021
Number of pages16
JournalNature Microbiology
Volume9
Issue number8
Early online date5 Jul 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2024

Funding

We appreciate the technical guidance of E. Feldmesser, B. Dassa, S. Ben-Dor and H. Keren-Shaul in RNA-sequencing. We thank R. Rotkopf for help with statistical analysis and A. Szitenberg for excellent bioinformatic support, and acknowledge the contribution of M. Itkin with LC–MS analysis (Life Sciences Core Facilities, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel). We thank R. Avraham and G. Rosenberg (Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel) for sharing their expertise in dual RNA-sequencing. The compound gonyol was synthesized and provided by K. Thume and G. Pohnert (Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany). We are grateful for inspiring discussions with T. Schubert and J. Hammer (Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany) about cobalamin-dependent one-carbon metabolism, and highly appreciate the stimulating feedback we received from E. Noor (Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel), U. Sauer (ETH Zürich, Switzerland), A. Bren (Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel) and J. Zimmermann (Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, Germany) about bacterial metabolism and the lag phase. We are especially thankful for the conceptual guidance and encouragement from the late D. Tawfik (Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel) during the early phase of the study. M.S. received a Dean of Faculty Fellowship, a Sir Charles Clore Fellowship (Clore Israel Foundation) and a Senior Postdoc Fellowship. D.A.N.-B. received the Armando and Maria Jinich Fellowship. The study was funded by the Minerva Foundation with funding from the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research, the Israel Science Foundation (ISF 947/18), the European Research Council (ERC StG 101075514) and the de Botton Center for Marine Science, granted to E.S.

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Microbiology
  • Immunology
  • Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology
  • Genetics
  • Microbiology (medical)
  • Cell Biology

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