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High-throughput Screening of Chemical Compounds to Elucidate Their Effects on Bacterial Persistence
Published on: February 23, 2021
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Evolutionary causes and consequences of bacterial antibiotic persistence
Erik Bakkeren1, Médéric Diard2, Wolf-Dietrich Hardt3
1Institute of Microbiology, Department of Biology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Nature Reviews. Microbiology
|May 29, 2020
Summary
Bacterial antibiotic persistence, a reversible loss of susceptibility, contributes to treatment failure. Understanding evolutionary forces and consequences can help prevent persister formation, slowing pathogen resistance and virulence.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Antimicrobial Resistance
Background:
- Antibiotic treatment failure is a growing global health concern.
- Genetically encoded resistance is a primary driver, but bacterial antibiotic persistence also contributes significantly.
- Antibiotic persistence is a non-genetically encoded, reversible loss of antibiotic susceptibility.
Purpose of the Study:
- To discuss the evolutionary forces driving the selection for antibiotic persistence.
- To review how antibiotic persistence is selected for, both directly and indirectly.
- To discuss the consequences of antibiotic persistence on pathogen evolution, including resistance and virulence.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of evolutionary forces and ecological contexts of antibiotic persistence.
- Analysis of how persister cells influence pathogen evolution.
- Proposal of strategies to prevent persister formation.
Main Results:
- Antibiotic persistence is selected for through direct and indirect evolutionary forces in various ecological settings.
- Persister cells can accelerate the evolution of antibiotic resistance and pathogen virulence.
- Preventing persister formation may mitigate the evolution of resistance and virulence.
Conclusions:
- Antibiotic persistence plays a crucial role in treatment failure and pathogen evolution.
- Targeting persister formation is a promising strategy to combat antimicrobial resistance and virulence.
- Further research into the evolutionary dynamics of persistence is warranted.
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