Epigenetic cellular memory in Pseudomonas aeruginosa generates phenotypic variation in response to host environments
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Phenotypic diversification within pathogen populations can enhance survival in stressful environments, broaden niche colonization, and expand the ecological range of infectious diseases due to emerging collective pathogenicity characteristics. We describe a gene regulatory network property in the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa that generates diversity of gene expression and pathogenicity behavior at the single-cell level and that is stabilized by epigenetic cellular memory. The resulting heterogeneity in the expression of the glpD gene—an indicator of host-derived glycerol metabolism and intra-host presence—shapes adaptive processes that are subject to natural selection. Our work on how epigenetics generates phenotypic variation in response to the environment and how these changes are inherited to the next generation provides insights into phenotypic diversity and the emergence of unique functionalities at higher levels of organization. These could be crucial for controlling infectious disease outcomes.
Authors: Elisabeth Vatareck, Tim Rick, Nicolas Oswaldo Gomez, Arnab Bandyopadhyay, Janina Kramer, Dmytro Strunin, Jelena Erdmann, Oliver Hartmann, Kathrin Alpers, Christian Boedeker, Anika Steffen, Christian Sieben, Gang Zhao, Jürgen Tomasch, Susanne Häussler
Institutions: Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Center for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Leibniz Institute DSMZ – German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, Czech Academy of Sciences, Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Microbiology
Language: English
Subfield: Genetics
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4411977795