Identification of genes heterogenously expressing in a natural microbial population

• Project/Area Number: 16K14896
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Applied microbiology
• Research Institution: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
• Principal Investigator: Miyazaki Ryo 国立研究開発法人産業技術総合研究所, 生命工学領域, 主任研究員 (80712489)
• Research Collaborator: Jan Roelof van der Meer
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2018)
• Budget Amount: ¥3,640,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥840,000); Fiscal Year 2018: ¥1,170,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥270,000); Fiscal Year 2017: ¥910,000 (Direct Cost: ¥700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥210,000); Fiscal Year 2016: ¥1,560,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥360,000)
• Keywords: 微生物 / 遺伝子発現 / ライブイメージング

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Resent studies have revealed that an isogenic bacterial population can contain phenotypically distinct subpopulations, which benefit the survivability and fitness of the population. We here aim to visualize and detect such heterogeneity in a clonal bacterial population in natural ecosystems. By developing time-lapse microscopy and automated image analysis system, we found that specific bacterial genes of which expression levels were highly variable among cells in a particular natural environment.

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

土壌や海水、動植物体内などいわゆる環境中の微生物研究は、特定の遺伝子やゲノム情報を利用したオミクス解析、あるいはFISH (Fluorescence in situ hybridization) 法など固定試料を使ったスナップショットの解析が中心で、ダイナミックな微生物集団の動態をリアルタイムに解析した例はほとんどない。本研究成果はまさにこの微生物生態学のギャップを埋め、自然環境中の細菌一細胞およびそこから派生するクローン細胞集団の動態を定量的かつリアルタイムに観察し、表現型の不均一性が微生物の進化・適応に及ぼす影響の解明に綱がる極めて重要な内容といえる。

Research Products

• [Journal Article] Dynamics of bacterial cell proliferation inhibited by specific proteins for effective horizontal transmission of the integrative and conjugative element ICEclc (2019)
  • Author(s): Takano Sotaro、Koto Akiko、Miyazaki Ryo
  • Journal Title: bioRxiv Volume: -
  • DOI: 10.1101/512285
  • Open Access
• [Journal Article] Diversity and Sociality Formed by Phenotypic Heterogeneity in a Clonal Population: Origins and Significance of Non-Genetic Individuality in Microbes (2018)
  • Author(s): 高野 壮太朗、宮崎 亮
  • Journal Title: KAGAKU TO SEIBUTSU Volume: 56 Issue: 7 Pages: 461-468
  • DOI: 10.1271/kagakutoseibutsu.56.461
  • NAID: 130007665227
  • ISSN: 0453-073X, 1883-6852
  • Year and Date: 2018-06-20
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Journal Article] Detection of Phospholipase C Activity in the Brain Homogenate from the Honeybee (2018)
  • Author(s): Suenami Shota、Miyazaki Ryo、Kubo Takeo
  • Journal Title: Journal of Visualized Experiments Volume: 139 Issue: 139
  • DOI: 10.3791/58173
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Journal Article] Physiological and transcriptome changes induced by Pseudomonas putida acquisition of an integrative and conjugative element (2018)
  • Author(s): Miyazaki Ryo、Yano Hirokazu、Sentchilo Vladimir、van der Meer Jan Roelof
  • Journal Title: Scientific Reports Volume: 8 Issue: 1
  • DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-23858-6
  • Peer Reviewed / Open Access / Int'l Joint Research
• [Journal Article] Phenotypic heterogeneity - cellular individuality and collective functionality (2017)
  • Author(s): Ryo Miyazaki
  • Journal Title: Microscopy Volume: 66
• [Presentation] 大腸菌クローン集団の不均一な飢餓応答と生存への影響 (2019)
  • Author(s): 高野 壮太朗、梅谷 実樹、中岡 秀憲、若本 祐一、宮崎 亮
  • Organizer: 第13回日本ゲノム微生物学会年会
• [Presentation] Phenotypic heterogeneity - cellular individuality and collective functionality (2018)
  • Author(s): 宮崎亮
  • Organizer: 日本顕微鏡学会第60回記念シンポジウム
  • Invited
• [Presentation] Bistability in a clonal microbial population (2017)
  • Author(s): 宮崎亮
  • Organizer: 第90回日本細菌学会総会
  • Place of Presentation: 仙台
  • Invited