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Growth phase-dependent UV-C resistance of Bacillus subtilis: data from a short-term evolution experiment

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Abstract

After 700 generations of a short-term evolution experiment with Bacillus subtilis 168, two strains were isolated, the UV-adapted strain MW01 and the UV-unexposed control strain DE69, and chosen for UV-C radiation resistance studies with respect to growth phase. The ancestral strain from the evolution experiment was used as reference for comparative purposes. Cells of the UV-adapted strain showed significant differences in their physiology (growth behavior, doubling time, cell density, and sporulation capacity) and were more resistant to UV in all monitored stages. These findings implicate the evolution to an increased UV radioresistance was not limited to a specific growth phase and led to reduced growth dynamics, compared with those obtained from the ancestral and the control strain.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are very grateful to Andrea Schröder and Richard Füsser for their skillful technical assistance during the experiments. These results will be included in the PhD thesis of Marko Wassmann. We thank the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and insightful suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Radiation Biology Department, Research Group ‘Astrobiology’, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Aerospace Medicine, Linder Hoehe, 51147, Cologne (Köln), Germany

    Marko Wassmann, Ralf Moeller & Petra Rettberg

  2. Radiation Biology Department, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Aerospace Medicine, Linder Hoehe, 51147, Cologne (Köln), Germany

    Günther Reitz

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  1. Marko Wassmann
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  2. Ralf Moeller
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  3. Günther Reitz
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  4. Petra Rettberg
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ralf Moeller.

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Communicated by Erko Stackebrandt.

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Wassmann, M., Moeller, R., Reitz, G. et al. Growth phase-dependent UV-C resistance of Bacillus subtilis: data from a short-term evolution experiment. Arch Microbiol 193, 823–832 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00203-011-0722-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00203-011-0722-9

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