%0 Journal Article %J Cell %D 2014 %T Cross-Kingdom Chemical Communication Drives a Heritable, Mutually Beneficial Prion-Based Transformation of Metabolism %A Daniel F. Jarosz %A Jessica C.S. Brown %A Gordon A. Walker %A Manoshi S. Datta %A W. Lloyd Ung %A Alex K. Lancaster %A Rotem, Assaf %A Amelia Chang %A Gregory A. Newby %A David A. Weitz %A Linda F. Bisson %A Susan Lindquist %X

Summary In experimental science, organisms are usually studied in isolation, but in the wild, they compete and cooperate in complex communities. We report a system for cross-kingdom communication by which bacteria heritably transform yeast metabolism. An ancient biological circuit blocks yeast from using other carbon sources in the presence of glucose. [GAR+], a protein-based epigenetic element, allows yeast to circumvent this “glucose repression” and use multiple carbon sources in the presence of glucose. Some bacteria secrete a chemical factor that induces [GAR+]. [GAR+] is advantageous to bacteria because yeast cells make less ethanol and is advantageous to yeast because their growth and long-term viability is improved in complex carbon sources. This cross-kingdom communication is broadly conserved, providing a compelling argument for its adaptive value. By heritably transforming growth and survival strategies in response to the selective pressures of life in a biological community, [GAR+] presents a unique example of Lamarckian inheritance.

%B Cell %V 158 %P 1083 - 1093 %G eng %U http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867414009751 %N 5 %R http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2014.07.025