Damage dynamics and the role of chance in the timing of E. coli cell death

• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37930-x
• Publication Date: 2023-04-18T12:03:15Z
• Authors: Yifan Yang; Omer Karin; Avi Mayo; Xiaohu Song; Peipei Chen; Ana L. Santos; Ariel B. Lindner; Uri Alon
• Keywords: Dynamics; Cell damage

Genetically identical cells in the same stressful condition die at different times. The origin of this stochasticity is unclear; it may arise from initial conditions that affect time demise, or a stochastic damage accumulation mechanism erases and instead amplifies noise to generate lifespans. To address requires measuring dynamics individual over lifespan, but has rarely been achieved. Here, we used microfluidic device measure membrane 635 carbon-starved Escherichia coli high temporal resolution. We find damage, size cell-cycle phase do not explain most lifespan variation. Instead, data points which amplified by rising production saturates its own removal. Surprisingly, relative variation drops with age: become more similar each other terms indicating increasing determinism age. Thus, chance then gives way increasingly deterministic dominate distribution.