Characterization of multi-drug tolerant persister cells in Streptococcus suis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Persister cells constitute a subpopulation of dormant cells within a microbial population which are genetically identical but phenotypically different to regular cells. Notably, persister cells show an elevated tolerance to antimicrobial agents. Thus, they are considered to represent a microbial 'bet-hedging' strategy and are of particular importance in pathogenic bacteria.

Results

We studied the ability of the zoonotic pathogen Streptococcus (S.) suis to form multi-drug tolerant variants and identified persister cells dependent on the initial bacterial growth phase. We observed lower numbers of persisters in exponential phase cultures than in stationary growth phase populations. S. suis persister cells showed a high tolerance to a variety of antibiotics, and the

SUBMITTER: Willenborg J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4040513 | biostudies-literature | 2014 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature