Exposure to phages has little impact on the evolution of bacterial antibiotic resistance on drug concentration gradients.

ABSTRACT: The use of phages for treating bacterial pathogens has recently been advocated as an alternative to antibiotic therapy. Here, we test a hypothesis that bacteria treated with phages may show more limited evolution of antibiotic resistance as the fitness costs of resistance to phages may add to those of antibiotic resistance, further reducing the growth performance of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. We did this by studying the evolution of phage-exposed and phage-free Pseudomonas fluorescens cultures on concentration gradients of single drugs, including cefotaxime, chloramphenicol, and kanamycin. During drug treatment, the level of bacterial antibiotic resistance increased through time and was not affected by the phage treatment. Exposure to phages did not cause slower growth in antibiotic-re

SUBMITTER: Zhang QG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3962299 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature