Role of toxin ζ and starvation responses in the sensitivity to antimicrobials
A fraction of otherwise antimicrobial-sensitive Bacillus subtilis cells, called persisters, are phenotypically tolerant of antimicrobial treatment. We report that, independently of B. subtilis' growth phase, transient ζ toxin expression induces a dormant state and alters cellular responses so t...
| Autores: | , , , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2014 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) |
| Repositorio: | DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:digital.csic.es:10261/110034 |
| Acceso en línea: | http://hdl.handle.net/10261/110034 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Cellular stress responses Bacillus subtilis Antitoxins Toxins Cell physiology Confidence intervals Gene pools Antimicrobials |
| Sumario: | A fraction of otherwise antimicrobial-sensitive Bacillus subtilis cells, called persisters, are phenotypically tolerant of antimicrobial treatment. We report that, independently of B. subtilis' growth phase, transient ζ toxin expression induces a dormant state and alters cellular responses so that cells are more sensitive to antimicrobials with different modes of action. This outcome is modulated by fine tuning (p)ppGpp and GTP levels: i) in the presence of low >dysregulated> (p)ppGpp levels (as in relA- cells) hyper-tolerance to both toxin and antimicrobials was observed; ii) physiological or low (p)ppGpp levels (as in the wild-type, sasA-, sasB- and relA- sasA- context) show a normal toxin and antimicrobial tolerance; and iii) lower levels (in relA- sasB -) or absence of (p)ppGpp (in the relA- sasA- sasB- context), in concert with elevated GTP levels, potentiate the efficacy of both toxin and antimicrobial action, rendering tolerance vulnerable to eradication. © 2014 Tabone et al. |
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