article published yes Tobias Bergmiller author 2C471CFA-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A870000-0001-5396-4346 Anna M Andersson author 2B8A40DA-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A870000-0003-2912-6769 Kathrin Tomasek author 3AEC8556-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A870000-0003-3768-877X Enrique Balleza author Daniel Kiviet author Robert Hauschild author 4E01D6B4-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A870000-0001-9843-3522 Gasper Tkacik author 3D494DCA-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A870000-0002-6699-1455 Calin C Guet author 47F8433E-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A870000-0001-6220-2052 CaGu department GaTk department Bio department Biophysics of information processing in gene regulation project The molecular mechanisms underlying phenotypic variation in isogenic bacterial populations remain poorly understood.We report that AcrAB-TolC, the main multidrug efflux pump of Escherichia coli, exhibits a strong partitioning bias for old cell poles by a segregation mechanism that is mediated by ternary AcrAB-TolC complex formation. Mother cells inheriting old poles are phenotypically distinct and display increased drug efflux activity relative to daughters. Consequently, we find systematic and long-lived growth differences between mother and daughter cells in the presence of subinhibitory drug concentrations. A simple model for biased partitioning predicts a population structure of long-lived and highly heterogeneous phenotypes. This straightforward mechanism of generating sustained growth rate differences at subinhibitory antibiotic concentrations has implications for understanding the emergence of multidrug resistance in bacteria. American Association for the Advancement of Science2017 eng 0036-8075 00039954010006010.1126/science.aaf4762 3566335311 - 315 https://research-explorer.ista.ac.at/record/5560 Bergmiller, Tobias, Anna M Andersson, Kathrin Tomasek, Enrique Balleza, Daniel Kiviet, Robert Hauschild, Gašper Tkačik, and Calin C Guet. “Biased Partitioning of the Multidrug Efflux Pump AcrAB TolC Underlies Long Lived Phenotypic Heterogeneity.” <i>Science</i>. American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2017. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaf4762">https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaf4762</a>. Bergmiller T, Andersson AM, Tomasek K, et al. Biased partitioning of the multidrug efflux pump AcrAB TolC underlies long lived phenotypic heterogeneity. <i>Science</i>. 2017;356(6335):311-315. doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaf4762">10.1126/science.aaf4762</a> Bergmiller, T., Andersson, A. M., Tomasek, K., Balleza, E., Kiviet, D., Hauschild, R., … Guet, C. C. (2017). Biased partitioning of the multidrug efflux pump AcrAB TolC underlies long lived phenotypic heterogeneity. <i>Science</i>. American Association for the Advancement of Science. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaf4762">https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaf4762</a> T. Bergmiller, A.M. Andersson, K. Tomasek, E. Balleza, D. Kiviet, R. Hauschild, G. Tkačik, C.C. Guet, Science 356 (2017) 311–315. Bergmiller T, Andersson AM, Tomasek K, Balleza E, Kiviet D, Hauschild R, Tkačik G, Guet CC. 2017. Biased partitioning of the multidrug efflux pump AcrAB TolC underlies long lived phenotypic heterogeneity. Science. 356(6335), 311–315. Bergmiller, Tobias, et al. “Biased Partitioning of the Multidrug Efflux Pump AcrAB TolC Underlies Long Lived Phenotypic Heterogeneity.” <i>Science</i>, vol. 356, no. 6335, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2017, pp. 311–15, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaf4762">10.1126/science.aaf4762</a>. T. Bergmiller <i>et al.</i>, “Biased partitioning of the multidrug efflux pump AcrAB TolC underlies long lived phenotypic heterogeneity,” <i>Science</i>, vol. 356, no. 6335. American Association for the Advancement of Science, pp. 311–315, 2017. 6652018-12-11T11:47:48Z2025-09-11T07:05:04Z