Combinatorial action of regulatory systems generates colistin heteroresistance.

ABSTRACT: Heteroresistance is a form of antibiotic resistance in which a minor subpopulation of resistant cells coexists with a majority susceptible population. Colistin heteroresistance is common among Enterobacter cloacae clinical isolates, threatens its utility as a last-line therapeutic, and has become a model with which to understand the fundamental bases of heteroresistance. Despite numerous insights, the mechanism by which phenotypic heterogeneity is generated within the population and leads to colistin heteroresistance has been unclear. Here, using a transposon-based mutagenesis screen, we identify the sigma factor σ^Eas the source of heterogeneity in population-wide colistin resistance levels. Single-cell tracking experiments revealed that σ^Eis active in only one

SUBMITTER: Choby JE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12363791 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature