Growth Phase Dependent Chromosome Condensation and H-NS Protein Redistribution in E. coli Under Osmotic Stress

The heat-stable nucleoid-structuring (H-NS) protein is a global transcriptional regulator implicated in coordinating the expression of over 200 genes in E. coli bacteria. We have applied super-resolved microscopy to quantify the intracellular, spatial reorganization of H-NS in response to osmotic stress. We find that H-NS shows a growth phase dependent response to hyperosmotic shock. In stationary phase, H-NS detaches from a tightly compacted bacterial chromosome and is excluded from the nucleoid volume over an extended period of time. This behaviour is absent during rapid growth but may be induced by exposing the osmotically stressed culture to the DNA gyrase inhibitor, coumermycin. This compaction/H-NS exclusion phenomenon occurs in the presence of either potassium or sodium ions and is independent of the stress responsive sigma factor RpoS, or the H-NS paralog StpA.