Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-3-2017
Publication Title
ELife
Department
Geisel School of Medicine
Additional Department
Thayer School of Engineering
Abstract
It has long been thought that the life cycle of Streptomyces bacteria encompasses three developmental stages: vegetative hyphae, aerial hyphae and spores. Here, we show interactions between Streptomyces and fungi trigger a previously unobserved mode of Streptomyces development. We term these Streptomyces cells ‘explorers’, for their ability to adopt a non-branching vegetative hyphal conformation and rapidly transverse solid surfaces. Fungi trigger Streptomyces exploratory growth in part by altering the composition of the growth medium, and Streptomyces explorer cells can communicate this exploratory behaviour to other physically separated streptomycetes using an airborne volatile organic compound (VOC). These results reveal that interkingdom interactions can trigger novel developmental behaviours in bacteria, here, causing Streptomyces to deviate from its classically-defined life cycle. Furthermore, this work provides evidence that VOCs can act as long-range communication signals capable of propagating microbial morphological switches.
DOI
10.7554/eLife.21738
Original Citation
Jones SE, Ho L, Rees CA, Hill JE, Nodwell JR, Elliot MA. Streptomyces exploration is triggered by fungal interactions and volatile signals. Elife. 2017 Jan 3;6:e21738. doi: 10.7554/eLife.21738. PMID: 28044982; PMCID: PMC5207766.
Dartmouth Digital Commons Citation
Jones, Stephanie E.; Ho, Louis; Rees, Christiaan A.; Hill, Jane E.; Nodwell, Justin R.; and Elliot, Marie A., "Streptomyces Exploration is Triggered by Fungal Interactions and Volatile Signals" (2017). Dartmouth Scholarship. 3285.
https://digitalcommons.dartmouth.edu/facoa/3285