Trade-offs between gene expression, growth and phenotypic diversity in microbial populations

Juhyun Kim, Alexander Darlington, Manuel Salvador, José Utrilla, José I. Jiménez

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

51 Scopus citations

Abstract

Bacterial cells have a limited number of resources that can be allocated for gene expression. The intracellular competition for these resources has an impact on the cell physiology. Bacteria have evolved mechanisms to optimize resource allocation in a variety of scenarios, showing a trade-off between the resources used to maximise growth (e.g. ribosome synthesis) and the rest of cellular functions. Limitations in gene expression also play a role in generating phenotypic diversity, which is advantageous in fluctuating environments, at the expenses of decreasing growth rates. Our current understanding of these trade-offs can be exploited for biotechnological applications benefiting from the selective manipulation of the allocation of resources.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)29-37
Number of pages9
JournalCurrent Opinion in Biotechnology
Volume62
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 2020

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