Spatial Fluctuations in Expression of the Heterocyst Differentiation Regulatory Gene in Filaments

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Under prolonged nitrogen deprivation, one-dimensional filaments of the multicellular cyanobacterium Anabaena undergo a process of development, forming a pattern consisting of cells specialized for nitrogen fixation-heterocysts-, separated by a chain of about ten photosynthetic vegetative cells. The developmental program uses activation, inhibition, and transport to create spatial and temporal patterns of gene expression, in the presence of unavoidable stochastic fluctuations in gene expression among cells. Using a chromosomally-encoded fluorescent marker, we followed the expression of the important regulator HetR in individual cells along filaments, both under abundant nitrogen conditions as well as at different times after nitrogen deprivation. The results of our statistical analysis of these fluctuations illuminate the fundamental role that positive feedback, lateral inhibition and cell-cell communication play in the developmental program, not only after exposure to the external cue that triggers differentiation but also under non-inducing conditions. Furthermore our results establish the spatial extent to which gene expression is correlated along filaments.

Vyšlo v časopise: Spatial Fluctuations in Expression of the Heterocyst Differentiation Regulatory Gene in Filaments. PLoS Genet 11(4): e32767. doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1005031
Kategorie: Research Article
prolekare.web.journal.doi_sk: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1005031

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