AUTHOR=Kumar C. M. Santosh , Chugh Kritika , Dutta Anirban , Mahamkali Vishnuvardhan , Bose Tungadri , Mande Sharmila S. , Mande Shekhar C. , Lund Peter A. 

TITLE=Chaperonin Abundance Enhances Bacterial Fitness

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/molecular-biosciences/articles/10.3389/fmolb.2021.669996

DOI=10.3389/fmolb.2021.669996

ISSN=2296-889X

ABSTRACT=<p>The ability of chaperonins to buffer mutations that affect protein folding pathways suggests that their abundance should be evolutionarily advantageous. Here, we investigate the effect of chaperonin overproduction on cellular fitness in <italic>Escherichia coli</italic>. We demonstrate that chaperonin abundance confers 1) an ability to tolerate higher temperatures, 2) improved cellular fitness, and 3) enhanced folding of metabolic enzymes, which is expected to lead to enhanced energy harvesting potential.</p>