In nature, bacteria encounter everchanging environments and spend their lifetime predominantly under unfavorable conditions. A short replication time and quick adaptation allow for the survival of a bacterial population that was unfit for a given condition at a certain time. The mechanisms underlying long-term survival are largely unknown.
As a postdoctoral fellow in Philippe Cluzel’s lab, Alina Guse is studying the so-called growth advantage in stationary phase (GASP) phenotype that arises during long-term cultivation of bacteria. Using single-cell analysis, she uncovers the transcriptional dynamics of isolated GASP mutants as a function of time to understand the mechanisms underlying particular chromosomal mutations and their benefit during long-term survival.
Alina received her doctorate in natural sciences focusing on microbiology and infection biology in Marc Erhardt’s lab at the Humboldt Universität zu Berlin in Germany, where she studied the mechanisms of protein secretion via the flagellar type-III secretion system.