PNAS: Hungry bacteria live longer

Indiana University (Indiana University) professor Jay T.

In a paper published online on August 12th in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of America, Lennon and his colleagues explained that they were able to treat about 100 different bacteria in a closed system.

"How bacteria can survive long-term energy constraints.

Many bacterial infections are difficult to treat, partly because drugs are usually designed to target the cellular mechanisms of metabolically active cells

Microorganisms also play an important role in the environment

A major unresolved problem is how billions of microbial cells and thousands of microbial groups can coexist in one gram of soil, usually under harsh environmental conditions

In this study, Lennon and his colleagues estimated that, as the fastest reproductive organisms on the planet, bacteria may also live very long lives

"Obviously, these predictions are far beyond the measurable range," Lennon said, "but these numbers are in line with the living bacteria found in ancient materials such as amber, rock salt crystals, permafrost, and sediments from the deepest part of the ocean.

The continued existence of microorganisms under these conditions may involve dormancy and other energy-preserving mechanisms

In this barren environment, cells must barely sustain life on poor food.

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Microbial population dynamics and evolutionary outcomes under extreme energy limitation.