Effect of non-genetic inheritance dynamics on the variation in cellular traits

Isogenic cell populations exhibit large phenotypic heterogeneity even when experiencing homogenous environmental conditions. The evolution of this heterogeneity is limited in part by the inheritance of cellular traits from one generation to the next. In this talk, we will introduce a new experimental technique based on trapping sister bacterial cells in microfluidic channels immediately after they separate from a single mother. Our new setup allows us to follow the sister cells growth and gene expression dynamics for up to ~100 generations while both cells experience identical environmental conditions. This in turn, provides a quantitative measurement of how identical cells become different over time, which reflects the non-genetic inheritance effects, and reveals their contribution to restraining the variability of cellular traits. Our results show that the inheritance dynamics vary significantly among different cellular traits, and its effects, can extend up to ~10 generations.