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Significance Viral dormancy, in which the infected cell is not killed but rather becomes the long-term residence of the parasite, is a hallmark of viruses across kingdoms from bacteriophages to HIV. When and how viruses decide to opt for this lifestyle remains mysterious. Phage lambda, which serves as a paradigm for viral dormancy, is reported to count the number of coinfecting viruses and then uses this value to assess the abundance of potential hosts and decide whether to become dormant. Here, we use a single-cell measurement of viruses and messenger RNA together with mathematical modeling to illuminate how lambda performs this task.
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Emerging heterogeneous compartments by viruses in single bacterial cells
Abstract Spatial organization of biological processes allows for variability in molecular outcomes and coordinated development. Here, we investigate how organization underpins phage lambda development and decision-making by characterizing viral components and processes in subcellular space. We use live-cell and in situ fluorescence imaging at the single-molecule level to examine lambda DNA replication, transcription, virion assembly, and resource recruitment in single-cell infections, uniting key processes of the infection cycle into a coherent model of phage development encompassing space and time. We find that different viral DNAs establish separate subcellular compartments within cells, which sustains heterogeneous viral development in single cells. These individual phage compartments are physically separated by theE. colinucleoid. Our results provide mechanistic details describing how separate viruses develop heterogeneously to resemble single-cell phenotypes.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2013762
- PAR ID:
- 10177367
- Publisher / Repository:
- Nature Publishing Group
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Nature Communications
- Volume:
- 11
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 2041-1723
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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