A 'rich-get-richer' mechanism drives patchy dynamics and resistance evolution in antibiotic-treated bacteria.

ABSTRACT: Bacteria in nature often form surface-attached communities that initially comprise distinct subpopulations, or patches. For pathogens, these patches can form at infection sites, persist during antibiotic treatment, and develop into mature biofilms. Evidence suggests that patches can emerge due to heterogeneity in the growth environment and bacterial seeding, as well as cell-cell signaling. However, it is unclear how these factors contribute to patch formation and how patch formation might affect bacterial survival and evolution. Here, we demonstrate that a 'rich-get-richer' mechanism drives patch formation in bacteria exhibiting collective survival (CS) during antibiotic treatment. Modeling predicts that the seeding heterogeneity of these bacteria is amplified by local CS and global resour

SUBMITTER: Simsek E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11297297 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature