Fig. 5: Individual phage decision-making occurs in separated subcellular locations.
From: Emerging heterogeneous compartments by viruses in single bacterial cells
a Colored arrows represent the transcripts targeted by FISH. The arrow direction corresponds to the transcription direction. The colored line segments on the black line mark the approximate locations of the FISH probes relative to the transcripts. b Decision-making transcripts localize to subcellular locations. Representative infected cells at 15 min post-infection with cells DAPI-stained. Representative cells chosen from four independent infection experiments. All scale bars in this figure are 2 μm. c Average pRE FISH signal is plotted against pR signal (Pearson’s ρ in plot, p value <0.001). d–g Phages make different decisions in separate subcellular locations. pR transcripts, separated by DAPI clusters, occupy separate areas. Of 2035 cells, 645 have pRE foci. Of 2035 cells, 439 have pRʹ foci. In all, 504/2035 cells have pRE without pRʹ foci. Of 2035, 298 cells have pRʹ without pRE foci. d–e Representative cells showing lytic decisions in a subset of different locations (75/2035 cells). f–g Representative cells showing conflicting lytic/lysogenic decisions in different locations (48/2035 cells). Representative cells chosen from four independent infection experiments. In total, 141/2035 cells have both pRE and pRʹ in the same cell at any locations. h Model of lambda decision-making in subcellular space. Phage DNAs occupy different subcellular areas, separated by bacterial DNA. Phage DNAs undergo gene expression in their locations, consisting of transcription and translation. It is unknown where key proteins localize after detaching from mRNA. Phage DNAs sequester essential DNA replication resources to their own locations. Phage DNA replication transpires where individual DNAs are, and continued transcription remains localized with phage DNA. Individual units remain separated by bacterial DNA and can differ in composition. Expanding phage DNAs physically push bacterial DNA inside the cell. Individual decisions may be enacted by segregated phage DNAs. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.
