Slow growth determines nonheritable antibiotic resistance in Salmonella enterica.

ABSTRACT: Bacteria can withstand killing by bactericidal antibiotics through phenotypic changes mediated by their preexisting genetic repertoire. These changes can be exhibited transiently by a large fraction of the bacterial population, giving rise to tolerance, or displayed by a small subpopulation, giving rise to persistence. Apart from undermining the use of antibiotics, tolerant and persistent bacteria foster the emergence of antibiotic-resistant mutants. Persister formation has been attributed to alterations in the abundance of particular proteins, metabolites, and signaling molecules, including toxin-antitoxin modules, adenosine triphosphate, and guanosine (penta) tetraphosphate, respectively. Here, we report that persistent bacteria form as a result of slow growth alone, despite opposite cha

SUBMITTER: Pontes MH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7206539 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature