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By analysing gene expression at the single-cell level, researchers at the Centre for Molecular Cell Biology, in collaboration with colleagues from the University of West London and Tampere University, have uncovered how premature termination of transcription shapes differences between individual members of bacterial communities. Because gene expression is stochastic and naturally occurs in short, irregular bursts, bacterial communities display significant cell-to-cell variation.

Published in Science Advances, the study demonstrates that regulation of stochastic gene expression does not stop at transcription initiation, premature termination of transcription of metabolic genes also plays an active role in shaping transcriptional bursts and controlling variability. Different regulatory architectures modulate either the size or frequency of these bursts. The soil bacterium Bacillus subtilis uses premature termination of transcription to maintain controlled cellular heterogeneity that could support resilience in spatially uneven environments such as soil, whereas the gut bacterium Escherichia coli combines control of transcription initiation with premature termination to enable rapid, switch-like responses to external metabolic cues that could facilitate adaptation to fluctuating conditions such as host feeding cycles.

The study further reveals that bacteria do not act in isolation; through metabolite exchange, cells can influence each other's gene expression, driving changes in cell-to-cell variation via intercellular regulation of transcription, enabling coordinated, community-level behaviour.

Reference:

Moradian S, Ali N, Jagadeesan R, Behrends V, Sanches Ribeiro A, Engl C. (2026) Premature transcription termination modulates stochastic gene expression in bacteria. Sci Adv 12(20):eaed0831. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aed0831