Phenotypic heterogeneity in clonal bacterial cultures was first reported when spores and specialized structures were observed microscopically in the late 19th century. However, despite this early discovery the extent of phenotypic heterogeneity, especially of phenotypes that do not confer striking morphological features, remains poorly understood because it is difficult to systematically study bacterial phenotypes at the single cell level. In this seminar, I will present data from my recent studies showing how a clonal bacterial community organizes into interacting subpopulations with distinct metabolic and physiological properties. I will also introduce a new assay that enables profiling the single cell transcriptomes of thousands of bacterial cells using a sensitive and affordable microfluidic technique. Finally, I will discuss how this new assay can be used to uncover the fundamental rules that govern the organization of cellular communities.
This GGA Seminar Series is held In-Person and on Zoom: https://ncsu.zoom.us/j/99571426936?pwd=L2tqQjRUOWMzK1BkSFZSQXprYnRVQT09