The molecular impact of contact-mediated interspecies interaction in bacteria

01.01.2019 bis 31.12.2021

Bacteria in nature reside in multispecies communities; however the molecular consequence of
interspecies contact has been hardly explored. Furthermore, accumulating data indicate that
neighboring bacteria exchange proteins and metabolites in a contact-dependent manner. This
exchange elicits new phenotypes; yet the extent of this phenomenon is unrevealed. Here we
propose to design dual-species communities, harboring Bacillus subtilis as the core bacterium,
to study contact-dependent modulation of gene expression. This will be achieved by providing a
global view of the transcriptome, proteome and phosphoproteome dynamics of the two
interacting species, and subsequently characterizing the function of the implicated genes. We
expect to reveal the genetic program and signal transduction pathways involved in such
interspecies response. In parallel, we will elucidate the extent and the identity of proteins,
trafficked between species, and reveal their common features, utilizing species-specific
proteomic labeling. Finally, based on our previous results, we predict that bacterial intercellular
nanotubes play a key role in contact-dependent interactions. Accordingly, the impact of
nanotubes on reprogramming gene expression as well as on intercellular protein trade will be
deciphered. This proposed project will provide the first comprehensive view of non-hereditary
contact-dependent molecular events occurring upon bacterial interspecies interaction.