We investigate the molecular mechanism of how an E. coli cell with the lac operon switches from one phenotype to another by monitoring fluorescently labeled lactose permease with single-molecule sensitivity. At intermediate inducer concentrations, a population of genetically identical cells exhibits two phenotypes: induced cells with highly fluorescent membranes and uninduced cells with a small number of membrane-bound permeases. We find that this basal level expression results from partial dissociation of the tetrameric lactose repressor from one of its operators on looped DNA. In contrast, infrequent events of complete dissociation of the repressor from DNA result in large bursts of permease expression that trigger induction of the lac operon. Hence, a stochastic, single molecular event determines a cell's phenotype.Genetically identical cells in the same environment can exhibit different phenotypes, and a single cell can switch between distinct phenotypes in a stochastic manner (1-4). In the classic example of lactose metabolism in E. coli, the lac genes are fully expressed for every cell in a population under high extracellular concentrations of inducers, such as the lactose analog methyl-β-D-thiogalactoside (TMG). However, at moderate inducer concentrations, the lac genes are highly expressed in only a fraction of a population, which may confer a fitness advantage for the entire population (5). Here we study the molecular mechanism that controls the stochastic phenotype switching of a single cell.Lactose metabolism is controlled by the lac operon (6,7), which consists of the lacZ, lacY, and lacA genes encoding beta-galactosidase, lactose permease, and transacetylase, respectively. Expression of the operon is regulated by a transcription factor, the lac repressor (8), which dissociates from its specific binding sequences of DNA, the lac operators, in the presence of inducer to allow transcription (Fig. 1A). The production of the permease increases inducer influx (9), resulting in positive feedback on permease expression level. Above a certain threshold of permease numbers, a cell will be in a phenotype capable of lactose metabolism, and below this threshold, a cell will be in a phenotype incapable of lactose metabolism (10, 11). The former has high fluorescence from the cell membrane, whereas the latter has low fluorescence, when the permease is labeled with a yellow fluorescent protein (YFP).

Riboswitches regulate genes through structural changes in ligand-binding RNA aptamers. With the use of an optical-trapping assay based on in situ transcription by a molecule of RNA polymerase, single nascent RNAs containing pbuE adenine riboswitch aptamers were unfolded and refolded. Multiple folding states were characterized by means of both force-extension curves and folding trajectories under constant force by measuring the molecular contour length, kinetics, and energetics with and without adenine. Distinct folding steps correlated with the formation of key secondary or tertiary structures and with ligand binding. Adenine-induced stabilization of the weakest helix in the aptamer, the mechanical switch underlying regulatory action, was observed directly. These results provide an integrated view of hierarchical folding in an aptamer, demonstrating how complex folding can be resolved into constituent parts, and supply further insights into tertiary structure formation.

Reconstructing the lineage relationships and dynamic event histories of individual cells within their native spatial context is a long-standing challenge in biology. Many biological processes of interest occur in optically opaque or physically inaccessible contexts, necessitating approaches other than direct imaging. Here we describe a synthetic system that enables cells to record lineage information and event histories in the genome in a format that can be subsequently read out of single cells in situ. This system, termed memory by engineered mutagenesis with optical in situ readout (MEMOIR), is based on a set of barcoded recording elements termed scratchpads. The state of a given scratchpad can be irreversibly altered by CRISPR/Cas9-based targeted mutagenesis, and later read out in single cells through multiplexed single-molecule RNA fluorescence hybridization (smFISH). Using MEMOIR as a proof of principle, we engineered mouse embryonic stem cells to contain multiple scratchpads and other recording components. In these cells, scratchpads were altered in a progressive and stochastic fashion as the cells proliferated. Analysis of the final states of scratchpads in single cells in situ enabled reconstruction of lineage information from cell colonies. Combining analysis of endogenous gene expression with lineage reconstruction in the same cells further allowed inference of the dynamic rates at which embryonic stem cells switch between two gene expression states. Finally, using simulations, we show how parallel MEMOIR systems operating in the same cell could enable recording and readout of dynamic cellular event histories. MEMOIR thus provides a versatile platform for information recording and in situ, single-cell readout across diverse biological systems.