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Population and Single-Cell Analysis of Antibiotic Persistence in Escherichia coli
Published on: March 24, 2023
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Persister Cells - a Plausible Outcome of Neutral Coevolutionary Drift
T M Khlebodarova1, V A Likhoshvai2
1Department of Systems Biology, Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Siberian Branch, Novosibirsk, Russia. tamara@bionet.nsc.ru.
Scientific Reports
|September 27, 2018
Summary
Neutrally coupled co-evolution drives bacterial complexity, enabling alternative cell cycles. This mathematical model explains the emergence of persister cells and may shed light on extremophile origins.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Systems Biology
Background:
- Bacterial persistence, a non-inherited antibiotic tolerance, affects a small bacterial fraction.
- Persister cells are hypothesized to utilize alternative cell cycle pathways, but the mechanisms remain unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present a mathematically grounded scenario for the emergence of bacterial persistence.
- To elucidate the pathways and mechanisms underlying persister cell formation.
Main Methods:
- Mathematical modeling of population dynamics.
- Analysis of neutrally coupled co-evolution (NCCE) in bacterial populations.
- Investigation of transcription-translation system properties.
Main Results:
- Neutrally coupled co-evolution (NCCE) increases bacterial population complexity.
- NCCE leads to cells capable of alternative cell cycle execution.
- Phenotypic multiplicity is underpinned by universal properties of coupled transcription-translation systems.
Conclusions:
- Modern persister cells likely evolved from cells exhibiting alternative cell cycle pathways.
- Regulatory mechanisms consolidating this phenomenon acted as a trigger for persister cell formation.
- Neutrally coupled co-evolution may be crucial for the origin of extremophiles in bacteria and archaea.
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