< Terug naar vorige pagina

Publicatie

Division of labor and growth during electrical cooperation in multicellular cable bacteria

Tijdschriftbijdrage - Tijdschriftartikel

Multicellularity is a key evolutionary innovation, leading to coordinated activity and resource sharing among cells, which generally occurs via the physical exchange of chemical compounds. However, filamentous cable bacteria display a unique metabolism in which redox transformations in distant cells are coupled via long-distance electron transport rather than an exchange of chemicals. This challenges our understanding of organismal functioning, as the link among electron transfer, metabolism, energy conservation, and filament growth in cable bacteria remains enigmatic. Here, we show that cells within individual filaments of cable bacteria display a remarkable dichotomy in biosynthesis that coincides with redox zonation. Nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry combined with 13 C (bicarbonate and propionate) and 15 N-ammonia isotope labeling reveals that cells performing sulfide oxidation in deeper anoxic horizons have a high assimilation rate, whereas cells performing oxygen reduction in the oxic zone show very little or no label uptake. Accordingly, oxygen reduction appears to merely function as a mechanism to quickly dispense of electrons with little to no energy conservation, while biosynthesis and growth are restricted to sulfide-respiring cells. Still, cells can immediately switch roles when redox conditions change, and show no differentiation, which suggests that the “community service” performed by the cells in the oxic zone is only temporary. Overall, our data reveal a division of labor and electrical cooperation among cells that has not been seen previously in multicellular organisms.
Tijdschrift: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
ISSN: 0027-8424
Volume: 117
Pagina's: 5478 - 5485
Jaar van publicatie:2020
Trefwoorden:A1 Journal article
BOF-keylabel:ja
BOF-publication weight:6
CSS-citation score:2
Auteurs:International
Authors from:Higher Education
Toegankelijkheid:Open