[Dormant state and phenotypic variability of Staphylococcus aureus and Corynebacterium pseudodiphtheriticum]

Ability to produce dormant forms (DF) was demonstrated for non-spore-forming bacteria Staphylococcus aureus (a nonpathogenic strain) and Corynebacterium pseudodiphtheriticum (an organism of the normal oropharyngeal flora). The salient features of the sthaphylococcal and corynebacterial DF were (1) prolonged preservation of viability; (2) resistance to damaging factors (heat treatment); and (3) specific morplology and ultrastructure. The optimal conditions for DF formation were (1) transfer of the stationary-phase cultures into saline solution with CaCl2 (10-300 mM) (for S. aureus); (2) growth in SR1 synthetic medium with fivefold nitrogen limitation (for C. pseudodiphtheriticum); and (3) incubation with (1-5) x 10(-4) M) of C12-AHB, an alkylhydroxybenzene akin to microbial anabiosis autoinducers. Increase of C12-AHB concentration to 7 x 10(-4) -2 x 10(-3) M resulted in "mummification" with irreversible loss of viability without autolytic processes. Germination of the dormant forms was followed by increased phenotypic variability, as seen from (1) diversity of colony types and (2) emergence of antibiotic-resistant clones on selective media. The share of kanamycin-resistant S. aureus variants was most numerous 0.002-0.01% in 4-month DF suspensions in saline with CaCl2. In the C. pseudodiphtheriticum DF produced under the effect of C12-AHB, the share of kanamycin-resistant variants was also found to increase. These data point to association between emergence of antibiotic-resistant variants and their persistence in dormant state mediated by starvation stress and regulated by AHB.