Survival of ampicillin-treated uropathogenic Escherichia coli is independent of single-cell growth rates.

ABSTRACT: The refractoriness of persistent infections to antibiotics necessitates lengthy treatment regimens to prevent therapeutic failures and relapses. Persistence has been attributed to entry of a small fraction of bacterial cells into a slowly growing or non-growing physiological state, which is thought to protect them against antibiotics targeting growth-related processes. However, these conclusions are largely based on studies conducted with lab-adapted strains carrying mutations that confer abnormally high levels of persistence. Here, we perform single-cell studies of ampicillin-mediated killing and persistence in a clinical isolate of uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC). We show that the majority of surviving cells are growing and dividing normally at the time of ampicillin exposure. Conv

SUBMITTER: Miyahara Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12864937 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature