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Swarming Motility Assays in Salmonella
Jonathan D Partridge1, Rasika M Harshey2
1Department of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA. j.partridge@utexas.edu.
Methods in Molecular Biology (Clifton, N.J.)
|February 26, 2023
Summary
Salmonella enterica motility, including swimming and swarming, is crucial for its spread and infection. Swarming enhances bacterial resistance to antibiotics, a key finding for understanding Salmonella pathogenesis.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Bacterial Pathogenesis
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica is a significant human pathogen.
- Flagella-driven motility, encompassing swimming and swarming, is vital for Salmonella dispersal and infectivity.
- Bacterial swarming is associated with a unique physiological state conferring adaptive resistance to antibiotics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe protocols for cultivating and studying swimming and swarming motility in Salmonella enterica.
- To introduce an assay for assessing antibiotic resistance in swarming Salmonella.
- To investigate the relationship between swarming and antibiotic resistance in Salmonella.
Main Methods:
- Cultivation and verification of Salmonella enterica.
- Assays for swimming motility in liquid media.
- Surface-based swarming motility assays.
- Border-crossing assay to evaluate antibiotic resistance during swarming.
Main Results:
- Established protocols for observing and quantifying Salmonella swimming and swarming.
- Demonstrated that swarming Salmonella exhibit enhanced adaptive resistance to antibiotics.
- Developed a novel assay to challenge swarming bacteria with antibiotics.
Conclusions:
- Swarming motility in Salmonella enterica is linked to acquired antibiotic resistance.
- The described protocols and assays facilitate the study of Salmonella motility and resistance.
- Understanding swarming-associated resistance is critical for controlling Salmonella infections.
