Vibrio cholerae survival strategy against environmental stresses – SurVi

Bacteria, including the human pathogen Vibrio cholerae, can enter a temporary non-proliferating state, also known as dormant, in response to a variety of environmental stresses. In the dormant state the cellular metabolic activity is absent or reduced to a maintenance level. Cells resuscitate and revert to proliferation when conditions for growth are restored. For their ability to survive host-imposed and environmental stressful conditions, cells in a dormant state have been associated to antimicrobial tolerance, chronic infections and environmental dispersion.
In the SurVi project, we will investigate V. cholerae dormant state on all fronts - cell physiology, genome integrity, de novo cell morphology reshaping - by a multi-disciplinary integrated approach. The genetic circuits, molecular mechanisms, morphological changes and metabolism throughout the dormancy cell program (entry, maintenance, exit) will be characterised in minute details.
We present a straightforward way to induce the formation of V. cholerae dormant cells by the simple addition of L-Arabinose to the growth medium. This permits to trigger formation and resuscitation of quantities of non-proliferating dormant cells in a short time window. Beside L-Arabinose, dormancy will be induced by at least two other means, cold exposure and treatment with cell wall targeting antibiotics. Comparing different stresses will permit to obtain a comprehensive view of the dormant state and pinpoint the dormant formation and reversion core cellular program. A better knowledge of the physiology of dormant cells is necessary to engineer new molecules to treat bacteria in a non-growth state and eradicate the environmental reservoirs of dormant bacteria. In addition, we will study the mechanism of action of L-Arabinose, because of its potential interest as a novel prophylactic agent against cholera and possibly other bacterial infections or diseases.