Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Persisters: a distinct physiological state of E. coli.

Devang Shah1, Zhigang Zhang, Arkady Khodursky

  • 1Department of Biology, Northeastern University, 134 Mugar Hall, 360 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115, USA. devang@rcn.com

BMC Microbiology
|June 14, 2006
PubMed
Summary

Researchers have developed a method to isolate bacterial persisters, dormant cells tolerant to antibiotics. This breakthrough allows for the study of these elusive cells, crucial for understanding and treating persistent infections.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

A deformylase inhibitor expands therapeutic options for Lyme disease.

Research square·2026
Same author

Energy expenditure and cellular activity underlie antibiotic tolerance of <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i>.

mBio·2026
Same author

Structure-Activity Studies on the Antitubercular Natural Product Evybactin.

ACS medicinal chemistry letters·2026
Same author

Utility of the US Preventive Services Task Force for Preeclampsia Risk Assessment and Aspirin Prophylaxis.

Obstetrical & gynecological survey·2026
Same author

An Analysis of Radiographers' False Preliminary Image Evaluation Comments in One New Zealand District.

Journal of medical radiation sciences·2025
Same author

The dynamic lateral gate of the mitochondrial β-barrel biogenesis machinery is blocked by darobactin A.

Nature communications·2025

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Bacterial Physiology
  • Antimicrobial Resistance

Background:

  • Bacterial persisters are dormant cells, comprising ~1% of populations, exhibiting multidrug tolerance.
  • This tolerance hinders complete eradication of infections by antibiotics.
  • Isolating persisters from wild-type populations has been a significant challenge since their discovery in 1944.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop a method for isolating bacterial persisters.
  • To characterize the physiological state of isolated persister cells.

Main Methods:

  • Hypothesized persisters are dormant with low translation levels.
  • Physically sorted dim E. coli cells lacking sufficient unstable GFP expression.
  • Analyzed gene expression profiles of sorted cells.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • Sorted dim cells demonstrated antibiotic tolerance.
  • These cells exhibited a unique gene expression profile compared to exponential or stationary phase cells.
  • Toxin-antitoxin module protein genes were upregulated in persisters, suggesting a role in their dormancy.

Conclusions:

  • A novel method for isolating bacterial persisters has been established.
  • Persister cells represent a distinct physiological state in bacteria.
  • This isolation method facilitates further research into persister cell biology and therapeutic strategies.