Bacteria Anticipate Seasonal Changes Through Their Circadian Clocks
MICROBIOLOGY
9/23/2024
Photoperiodic timekeeping is a crucial mechanism that enables organisms to adapt and thrive amidst seasonal changes, such as annual temperature cycles. A groundbreaking study published in Science in September 2024 revealed that even microorganisms, like cyanobacteria, use their internal biological clocks to gather photoperiodic information and predict seasonal transitions. In this study, researchers at the John Innes Centre exposed cyanobacteria to artificial day lengths at a constant warm temperature over eight days before subjecting them to extreme cold. Remarkably, the cyanobacteria exposed to shorter, winter-like days (8 hours of light and 16 hours of darkness) achieved a survival rate of 75%, three times higher than those unprepared for the cold. This enhanced survival was driven by the desaturation of membrane lipids and specific gene transcription programs related to stress response. Notably, these adaptive responses depended on an intact circadian clock to properly interpret the environmental photoperiod cues. These findings shed new light on how even simple organisms can anticipate climate change, offering promising insights for developing innovative technologies to tackle global warming and environmental challenges.
