Abstract
Bacterial adaptive responses to biotic and abiotic stresses often involve large-scale reprogramming of the transcriptome. Since nitrogen is an essential component of the bacterial cell, the transcriptional basis of the adaptive response to nitrogen starvation has been well studied. The adaptive response to N starvation in Escherichia coli is primarily a ‘scavenging response’, which results in the transcription of genes required for the transport and catabolism of nitrogenous compounds. However, recent genome-scale studies have begun to uncover and expand some of the intricate regulatory complexities that underpin the adaptive transcriptional response to nitrogen starvation in E. coli. The purpose of this review is to highlight some of these new developments.
Highlights
Conditions that sustain constant bacterial growth are seldom found in nature
Bacterial growth is often limited by the availability of nutrients: soil, water, and even host environments such as macrophages can lack essential nutrients to support growth
Many bacteria spend the majority of their time in states of little or no growth because they are starved of essential nutrients
Summary
Conditions that sustain constant bacterial growth are seldom found in nature. Bacterial growth is often limited by the availability of nutrients: soil, water, and even host environments such as macrophages can lack essential nutrients to support growth. A study by Brown et al [12] highlighted the need for E. coli to integrate the specific adaptive response to N starvation with bacterial stringent response-mediated changes in gene expression to allow the cell to optimally cope with low N availability.
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