Memory, Regulation, and Growth
Phenotypic memory and metabolic fluctuations
We are studying how bacteria encode and employ memory of past environmental conditions as an adaptation to growth in fluctuating environments.
Ecological memory and phage resistance mechanisms
Bacteria have many different mechanisms that enable survival in the presence of phage, including immune defenses such as CRISPR and RM systems, and preventative defenses such as altered surface receptors. Using game theory and nonlinear dynamics, we find a new type of memory that operates at the ecological level to preserve costly resistance mechanisms.
Cell cycle heritability and long-term growth
From bacteria to mammalian cell lines, the cell cycle exhibits memory of the previous generation, such that mother and daughter cell division times are correlated. We have found that such heritability increases the long-term growth rate of cellular populations and underlies a phase transition of the population’s lineage structure.
