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. 2014 Feb 11;4:12. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2014.00012

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Copyright © 2014 Fonseca and Swanson.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

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Metabolic cues govern L. pneumophila cellular differentiation. The infectious, motile, transmissive form of L. pneumophila enters its host by phagocytosis. Nutrient abundance is signaled by metabolites, such as amino acids, which trigger differentiation of L. pneumophila to the replicative form that then multiplies in an ER-derived vacuolar compartment. Nutritional starvation, signaled by accumulation of particular metabolites, activates the stringent response and a regulatory cascade that coordinates differentiation of L. pneumophila to the transmissive form, which seeks a new site favorable for replication.