Bacteria hyperpolarize in response to oxygen drop
- 1Boston University
Abstract
Aerobic microbes use oxygen as a terminal electron acceptor to establish an electrochemical gradient across their cell membranes. While this membrane potential ({triangleup}{Psi}) is essential for multiple cellular processes, it is unknown if and how it is maintained in bacteria during shifts in oxygen availability. We find that bacteria hyperpolarize in response to drops in oxygen. Focusing on Bacillus subtilis and guided by modeling, we report that hyperpolarization magnitude scales with the degree of electron acceptor deprivation. We find that potassium efflux contributes to the response. Surveying mutants, we uncover genes involved in potassium homeostasis and oxygen stress that contribute to hyperpolarization. We show that hyperpolarization scales with faster growth rates resulting from nutrient type and colony spatial heterogeneity. Finally, we demonstrate that oxygen shift increases susceptibility to antibiotics. Our results demonstrate a conserved link between {triangleup}{Psi} and oxygen stress, suggesting a common mechanism for responding to shifting oxygen availability.
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BibTeX
@misc{kostman2026bacteria,
title = {{Bacteria hyperpolarize in response to oxygen drop}},
author = {M. Peters Kostman and J. Girard and W. Ma and J. W. Larkin},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.64898/2026.10.07.757406},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.07.757406v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Bacteria hyperpolarize in response to oxygen drop
AU - M. Peters Kostman
AU - J. Girard
AU - W. Ma
AU - J. W. Larkin
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/07
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.10.07.757406
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.07.757406v1
AB - Aerobic microbes use oxygen as a terminal electron acceptor to establish an electrochemical gradient across their cell membranes. While this membrane potential ({triangleup}{Psi}) is essential for multiple cellular processes, it is unknown if and how it is maintained in bacteria during shifts in oxygen availability. We find that bacteria hyperpolarize in response to drops in oxygen. Focusing on Bacillus subtilis and guided by modeling, we report that hyperpolarization magnitude scales with the degree of electron acceptor deprivation. We find that potassium efflux contributes to the response. Surveying mutants, we uncover genes involved in potassium homeostasis and oxygen stress that contribute to hyperpolarization. We show that hyperpolarization scales with faster growth rates resulting from nutrient type and colony spatial heterogeneity. Finally, we demonstrate that oxygen shift increases susceptibility to antibiotics. Our results demonstrate a conserved link between {triangleup}{Psi} and oxygen stress, suggesting a common mechanism for responding to shifting oxygen availability.
ER -