For unsuspecting bacteria, the difference between life and death depends upon efficient and specific responses to various stressors. Facing a much larger world, microbes are invariably challenged with ever-changing environments where temperature, pH, chemicals, and nutrients are in a constant state of flux. Only those that are able to rapidly reprogram themselves and express subsets of genes needed to overcome the stress will survive and outcompete neighboring microbes. Recently, low shear stress, emulating microgravity (MG) experienced in space, has been characterized in a number of microorganisms including fungi and prokaryotes ranging from harmless surrogate organisms to bona fide pathogens. Interestingly, MG appears to induce a plethora of effects ranging from enhanced pathogenicity in several Gram-negative enterics to enhanced biofilm formation. Furthermore, MG-exposed bacteria appeared better able to handle subsequent stressors including: osmolarity, pH, temperature, and antimicrobial challenge while yeast exhibited aberrant budding post-MG-exposure. This review will focus on MG-induced alterations of virulence in various microbes with the emphasis placed on bacteria.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.