Abstract
A main function of bacterial metabolism is to supply biomass building blocks and energy for growth. This seems to imply that metabolism is idle in non-growing bacteria. But how relevant is metabolism for the physiology of non-growing bacteria and how active is their metabolism? Here, we reviewed literature describing metabolism of non-growing bacteria in their natural environment, as well as in biotechnological and medical applications. We found that metabolism does play an important role during dormancy and that especially the demand for ATP determines metabolic activity of non-growing bacteria.
Highlights
Bacterial metabolism and growth are mutually connected: metabolic activity is high in growing cells, while non-growing cells are metabolically less active
How relevant is metabolism for the physiology of non-growing bacteria and how active is their metabolism? Here, we reviewed literature describing metabolism of non-growing bacteria in their natural environment, as well as in biotechnological and medical applications
We found that metabolism does play an important role during dormancy and that especially the demand for ATP determines metabolic activity of nongrowing bacteria
Summary
Bacterial metabolism and growth are mutually connected: metabolic activity is high in growing cells, while non-growing cells are metabolically less active. To which extent metabolic activity decreases in nongrowing cells is currently not clear, because it is experimentally difficult to measure metabolic flux in non-growing cells that hardly exchange nutrients with the environment. Metabolism of non-growing cells is less predictable with metabolic models, because the metabolic objectives of these cells are not well defined. Current approaches to model metabolism of non-growing E. coli are based on small-scale phenomenological models, which capture for instance E. coli metabolism during stationary phase (Schink et al 2019). Schink and coworkers combined a small-scale model of E. coli with experimental data to quantitatively describe how non-growing E. coli cells recycle metabolites from dead cells and how this maintains viability of the overall culture. In this review we ask if non-growing cells are metabolically active and which objectives define their metabolism.
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