Synthesis of immediate upshift (Iup) proteins during recovery of marine Vibrio sp. strain S14 subjected to long-term carbon starvation

Abstract

Proteins induced during the initial phase of recovery after long-term carbon starvation in the marine Vibrio sp. strain S14 were identified by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis analysis. Nutritional upshift experiments with pulse-labeled cells were performed after addition of glucose to cells starved for 48 h. Eighteen proteins synthesized during the first 3 min after substrate addition were identified and designated immediate upshift proteins (Iup proteins). They were induced at least 10-fold compared with the rate of synthesis during starvation. Of the Iup proteins, five are not found in exponentially growing cells. Subsequent to the first 3 min of glucose addition, a complex pattern of sequential synthesis of proteins made during a transient phase as well as proteins made during 60 min of the outgrowth response was monitored. To resolve whether the Iup proteins were synthesized from stable transcripts, the initiation of transcription was inhibited by rifampin (Rif). Addition of Rif 5 min prior to glucose promoted upshift resulted in the synthesis of 12 Iup proteins. Furthermore, three Iup proteins were still induced by cells that were Rif treated 20 min prior to the upshift. These results suggest that stable but silent transcripts exist during starvation and that the translation of these mRNA species is initiated by substrate addition. This regulatory mechanism may be essential for an immediate initiation of the recovery program by the nongrowing cell.

Escherichia coli proteins synthesized during recovery from starvation

“…These changes in the pattern of protein synthesis are qualitatively similar to those that occur during recovery from starvation in other gram-negative bacteria (1,7,12). Synthesis of different exponential-phase proteins is induced in a specific temporal order, and the synthesis of starvation-induced proteins stops at different times after the addition of nutrients.…”

“…Proteins expressed only or predominantly during outgrowth from starvation have been observed in Vibrio sp. strain S14 (1,12) and Pseudomonas putida KT2442 (7) and during outgrowth of Bacillus subtilis spores (22). These outgrowth-specific proteins are likely to be involved in recovery from starvation.…”

Integrating biogeochemistry with multiomic sequence information in a model oxygen minimum zone

“…Alternatively, transcripts and proteins might persist in the cells in inactive states for a significant period, even after dispersal into areas with low substrate concentrations. For example, stable but silent transcripts have been found in bacteria after several days of starvation (49,50). Furthermore, gene expression may not change immediately in response to external stimulus (14).…”

The starvation-stress response of Vibrio (Listoneila) anguillarum

“…The starvation-survival strategies employed by bacteria include at least the adaptive processes of olhgotrophy, spore and cyst formation, and copiotrophy (Ostling et al, 1993;Poindexter, 1981;Rozak & Colwell, 1987;Schut et al, 1993). Copiotrophic bacteria exhibit relatively rapid growth rates under conditions of abundant nutrients and survive starvation without the development of spores or cysts (Nystrom et al, 1990 Starvation-stress in V. anguillarum Matin, 1991;Nystrom et al, 1990;Ostling et al, 1993). In other words, these bacteria survive starvation by expressing genes which enable the cells to enter a starvation-induced adaptation state, which is resistant not only to long-term starvation but also to a variety of physical and chemical stresses, and permits the cells to initiate outgrowth when nutrients are available (Marouga & Kjelleberg, 1996).…”

“…Some bacteria escape these harsh conditions by differentiating into stress-resistant forms such as endospores or myxospores (Sonenshein, 1989;Zusman, 1984). Recent investigations have demonstrated that many non-differentiating bacteria also have the ability to withstand long periods of nutrient limitation and starvation (Matin et al, 1989 ;Morita, 1993;Ostling et al, 1993;Spector & Foster, 1993). Indeed, it has been suggested that in natural environments most micro-organisms face intermittent or prolonged periods of nutrient-limiting conditions and rarely, if ever, grow at rates approaching maximum mechanisms that allow the cells to survive exposure to multiple physical stresses (Givskov et af., 1994b; Jenkins et af., 1988;Ostling et al, 1993).…”