Maryam Kohram, Amy E Sanderson, Alicia Loui, Peyton V Thompson, Harsh Vashistha, Aseel Shomar, Zoltán N Oltvai, Hanna Salman
Random mutagenesis, including when it leads to loss of gene function, is a key mechanism enabling microorganisms' long-term adaptation to new environments. However, loss-of-function mutations are often deleterious, triggering, in turn, cellular stress and complex homeostatic stress responses, called "allostasis," to promote cell survival. Here, we characterize the differential impacts of 65 nonlethal, deleterious single-gene deletions on Escherichia coli growth in three different growth environments. Further assessments of select mutants, namely, those bearing single adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthase subunit deletions, reveal that mutants display reorganized transcriptome profiles that reflect both the environment and the specific gene deletion...
May 14, 2024: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America