Journal
BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-GENE REGULATORY MECHANISMS
Volume 1862, Issue 7, Pages 752-758Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbagrm.2018.01.003
Keywords
Bistability; Phase variation; DNA methylation; Phenotypic heterogeneity; Salmonella enterica
Categories
Funding
- Ministerio de Economia e Innovation of Spain (MINECO) [BIO2016-75235-P]
- European Regional Fund
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Cell-to-cell differences in bacterial gene expression can merely reflect the occurrence of noise. In certain cases, however, heterogeneous gene expression is a programmed event that results in bistable expression. If bistability is heritable, bacterial lineages are formed. When programmed bistability is reversible, the phenomenon is known as phase variation. In certain cases, bistability is controlled by genetic mechanisms (e.g., DNA rearrangement). In other cases, bistability has epigenetic origin. A robust epigenetic mechanism for the formation of bacterial lineages is the formation of heritable DNA methylation patterns. However, bistability can also arise upon propagation of gene expression patterns by feedback loops that are stable upon cell division. This review describes examples of bistability and phase variation in Salmonella enterica and discusses their adaptive value, sometimes in a speculative manner.
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