Colony pattern multistability emerges from a bistable switch

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Chu, Pan; Zhu, Jingwen; Ma, Zhixin; Fu, Xiongfei
• 署名单位: Chinese Academy of Sciences; Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, CAS; Chinese Academy of Sciences; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, CAS
• 刊物名称: PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0027-9903
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2424112122
• 发表日期: 2025-04-08
• 关键词: heterogeneity; expression; noise; COOPERATION; principles; biology

摘要

Microbial colony development hinges upon a myriad of factors, including mechanical, biochemical, and environmental niches, which collectively shape spatial patterns governed by intricate gene regulatory networks. The inherent complexity of this phenomenon necessitates innovative approaches to comprehend and compare the mechanisms driving pattern formation. Here, we unveil the multistability of bacterial colony patterns, where bacterial colony patterns can stabilize into multiple distinct types including ring-like patterns and sector-like patterns on hard agar, orchestrated by a simple synthetic bistable switch. Utilizing quantitative imaging and spatially resolved transcriptome approaches, we explore the deterministic process of a ring-like colony pattern formation from a single cell. This process is primarily driven by bifurcation events programmed by the gene regulatory network and microenvironmental cues. Additionally, we observe a noise-induced process amplified by the founder effect, leading to patterns of symmetry-break during range expansion. The degrees of asymmetry are profoundly influenced by the initial conditions of single progenitor cells during the nascent stages of colony development. These findings underscore how the process of range expansion enables individual cells, exposed to a uniform growth-promoting environment, to exhibit inherent capabilities in generating emergent, self-organized behavior.