Spontaneous induction of cryptic prophages in populations of the model species Corynebacterium glutamicum and Escherichia coli

Spontaneous prophage induction in a small subpopulation of cells which takes place in the absence of a known stimulus is an often observed, but poorly understood phenomenon. With the proposed project we aim to investigate the impact of stress responses and stochasticity fluctuations of key regulatory proteins on the spontaneous induction of the Corynebacterium glutamicum prophage CGP3 at the single cell level. We aim to combine classical microbiological approaches with stochastic modelling and the design of novel microfluidic devices for single cell studies to contribute to a better understanding of spontaneous prophage induction as a general phenomenon in bacterial populations.