Salmonella persisters promote the spread of antibiotic resistance plasmids in the gut.

ABSTRACT: The emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria through mutations or the acquisition of genetic material such as resistance plasmids represents a major public health issue^1,2. Persisters are subpopulations of bacteria that survive antibiotics by reversibly adapting their physiology^3-10, and can promote the emergence of antibiotic-resistant mutants¹¹. We investigated whether persisters can also promote the spread of resistance plasmids. In contrast to mutations, the transfer of resistance plasmids requires the co-occurrence of both a donor and a recipient bacterial strain. For our experiments, we chose the facultative intracellular entero-pathogen Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) and Escherichia coli, a common member of the microbiota<

SUBMITTER: Bakkeren E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6744281 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature