Non-hereditary, contact-dependent molecular exchange as a prerequisite for bacterial multicellular­ity

•  Prof Dr Sigal Ben-Yehuda The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Hadassah Medical School, Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics.
• Prof Dr Boris Macek Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Interfakultäres Institut für Zellbiologie (IFIZ), Proteom Centrum.

© SPP2389

Bacteria in nature reside in multispecies communities; however, the molecular consequence of interspecies contact has been hardly explored. Furthermore, accumulating data indicate that neighbouring bacteria exchange proteins and metabolites in a contact-dependent manner. This exchange elicits new phenotypes, yet the extent of this phenomenon is unrevealed.

Here we propose to design dual-species communities, harbouring Bacillus subtilis as the core bacterium, to study contact-dependent modulation of gene expression. This will be achieved by providing a global view of the transcriptome, proteome and phosphoproteome dynamics of the two interacting species. We expect to reveal the genetic program and signal transduction pathways involved in such an interspecies response. In parallel, we will elucidate the extent and the identity of proteins trafficked between species and reveal their common features, utilizing species-specific transcriptomic and proteomic labelling.

Furthermore, based on our previous results, we predict that bacterial intercellular nanotubes, a mode of interaction that we have previously discovered, play a key role in these contact-dependent interactions. Accordingly, the impact of nanotubes on reprogramming gene expression as well as on intercellular RNA and protein trade will be deciphered by employing mutants deficient in their formation.

This proposed project will provide the first comprehensive view of non-hereditary contact-dependent molecular events occurring during bacterial interspecies interaction and will determine the impact of intercellular nanotubes on this process.

Research focus

• Investigation of the global contact-mediated molecular response to a foreign species.
• Investigation of the extent of global intercellular molecular trade and deciphering identity of native cargo molecules. 
• Elucidation of the impact of nanotubes on the contact-mediated molecular response and intercellular molecular trade.

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