Chloramphenicol and gentamicin reduce the evolution of resistance to phage ΦX174 by suppressing a subset of E. coli LPS mutants.

ABSTRACT: Bacteriophages infect gram-negative bacteria by attaching to molecules present on the bacterial surface, often lipopolysaccharides (LPS). Modification of LPS can lead to resistance to phage infection. In addition, LPS modifications can impact antibiotic susceptibility, allowing for phage-antibiotic synergism. The evolutionary mechanism(s) behind such synergistic interactions remain largely unclear. Here, we show that the presence of antibiotics can affect the evolution of resistance to phage infection, using phage ΦX174 and Escherichia coli C. We use a collection of 34 E. coli C LPS strains, each of which is resistant to ΦX174, and has either a "rough" or "deep rough" LPS phenotype. Growth of the bacterial strains with the deep rough phenotype is inhibited at low concentrations of chloramp

SUBMITTER: Parab L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11753469 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature