Bacterial gene expression at cold temperatures

• Published in: Extremophiles
• Main Authors: Trevors, J.T., Bej, A.K., Mojib, N., van Elsas, J.D., van Overbeek, L.S.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2012
• Subjects: acclimation proteins; antarctic bacterium; antifreeze proteins; arthrobacter-globiformis si55; cold-shock proteins; escherichia-coli; nonculturable state; pseudomonas-mandelii; ralstonia-solanacearum biovar-2; vibrio-vulnificus; Antarctic; Antarc*
• Online Access: https://research.wur.nl/en/publications/bacterial-gene-expression-at-cold-temperatures; https://doi.org/10.1007/s00792-011-0423-y

Under suboptimal environmental conditions such as low temperatures, many bacteria have an extended lag phase, altered cell structures, and composition such as a less fluid (more rigid) and leaky cytoplasmic membrane. As a result, cells may die, enter into a starvation mode of metabolism or a physiologically viable but non-culturable (VBNC) state. In the latter state, the amount of gene expression per cell is virtually undetectable. In this article, gene expression under (suboptimal) low temperature conditions in non-psychrophilic environmental bacteria is examined. The pros and cons of some of the molecular methodologies for gene expression analysis are also discussed