Back to Search
Start Over
Persistence and resistance as complementary bacterial adaptations to antibiotics
- Source :
- Journal of Evolutionary Biology
- Publication Year :
- 2016
- Publisher :
- John Wiley and Sons Inc., 2016.
-
Abstract
- Bacterial persistence represents a simple of phenotypic heterogeneity, whereby a proportion of cells in an isogenic bacterial population can survive exposure to lethal stresses such as antibiotics. In contrast, genetically based antibiotic resistance allows for continued growth in the presence of antibiotics. It is unclear, however, whether resistance and persistence are complementary or alternative evolutionary adaptations to antibiotics. Here, we investigate the co‐evolution of resistance and persistence across the genus Pseudomonas using comparative methods that correct for phylogenetic nonindependence. We find that strains of Pseudomonas vary extensively in both their intrinsic resistance to antibiotics (ciprofloxacin and rifampicin) and persistence following exposure to these antibiotics. Crucially, we find that persistence correlates positively to antibiotic resistance across strains. However, we find that different genes control resistance and persistence implying that they are independent traits. Specifically, we find that the number of type II toxin–antitoxin systems (TAs) in the genome of a strain is correlated to persistence, but not resistance. Our study shows that persistence and antibiotic resistance are complementary, but independent, evolutionary adaptations to stress and it highlights the key role played by TAs in the evolution of persistence.
- Subjects :
- 0301 basic medicine
antibiotic resistance
medicine.drug_class
030106 microbiology
Antibiotics
medicine.disease_cause
Persistence (computer science)
Microbiology
03 medical and health sciences
Antibiotic resistance
Phylogenetics
Drug Resistance, Bacterial
medicine
Gene
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Phylogeny
biology
comparative studies
Bacteria
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Pseudomonas
persistence
biology.organism_classification
Research Papers
Biological Evolution
life‐history trade‐offs
Anti-Bacterial Agents
030104 developmental biology
Rifampin
Research Paper
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 14209101 and 1010061X
- Volume :
- 29
- Issue :
- 6
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Journal of Evolutionary Biology
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....330371f0a36eacba6cd4c6d43730d690