Formation of bacterial lineages in salmonella enterica by epigenetic mechanisms

Abstract

Formation of bacterial lineages can have adaptive value either as a division of labor or as a bet-hedging strategy, and may facilitate bacterial adaptation to hostile and/or unpredictable environments. Lineage formation is often under epigenetic control, thus avoiding the burden of mutation. Epigenetic lineages can be formed whenever a cell-to-cell difference (e.g., generated by intrinsic noise) is propagated by a heritable feedback loop. In other cases, the basis of bacterial lineage formation is more complex and involves the formation of heritable DNA methylation patterns. In Salmonella enterica, a pathogen of humans and livestock, lineage formation plays roles in host colonization, bacteriophage resistance, motility, biofilm formation, and adaptive resistance to antibiotics.