Gradual dehydration is one of the frequent lethal yet poorly understood stresses that bacterial cells constantly face in the environment when their micro ecotopes dry out, as well as in industrial processes. Bacteria successfully survive extreme desiccation through complex rearrangements at the structural, physiological, and molecular levels, in which proteins are involved. The DNA-binding protein Dps has previously been shown to protect bacterial cells from many adverse effects. In our work, using engineered genetic models of E. coli to produce bacterial cells with overproduction of Dps protein, the protective function of Dps protein under multiple desiccation stresses was demonstrated for the first time. It was shown that the titer of viable cells after rehydration in the experimental variants with Dps protein overexpression was 1.5-8.5 times higher. Scanning electron microscopy was used to show a change in cell morphology upon rehydration. It was also proved that immobilization in the extracellular matrix, which is greater when the Dps protein is overexpressed, helps the cells survive. Transmission electron microscopy revealed disruption of the crystal structure of DNA-Dps crystals in E. coli cells that underwent desiccation stress and subsequent watering. Coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations showed the protective function of Dps in DNA-Dps co-crystals during desiccation. The data obtained are important for improving biotechnological processes in which bacterial cells undergo desiccation.
Keywords: DNA-binding protein Dps; DNA–Dps crystals; Escherichia coli; bacterial survival; molecular dynamics methods; multiple desiccation stresses.