Gram-positive bacteria are primed for surviving lethal doses of antibiotics and chemical stress.

ABSTRACT: Antibiotic resistance kills millions worldwide yearly. However, a major contributor to recurrent infections lies in a small fraction of bacterial cells, known as persisters. These cells are not inherently antibiotic-resistant, yet they lead to increased antibiotic usage, raising the risk of developing resistant progenies. In a bacterial population, individual cells exhibit considerable fluctuations in their gene expression levels despite being cultivated under identical, stable conditions. This variability in cell-to-cell characteristics (phenotypic diversity) within an isogenic population enables persister cells to withstand antibiotic exposure by entering a non-dividing state. We recently showed the existence of "primed cells" in E. coli. Primed cells are dividing cells prepared f

SUBMITTER: Guha M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11185512 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature