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Mashayamombe M, Carda-Diéguez M, Mira A, Fitridge R, Zilm PS, Kidd SP. Subpopulations in Strains of Staphylococcus aureus Provide Antibiotic Tolerance. Antibiotics (Basel) 2023; 12:antibiotics12020406. [PMID: 36830316 PMCID: PMC9952555 DOI: 10.3390/antibiotics12020406] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2023] [Revised: 02/12/2023] [Accepted: 02/15/2023] [Indexed: 02/22/2023] Open
Abstract
The ability of Staphylococcus aureus to colonise different niches across the human body is linked to an adaptable metabolic capability, as well as its ability to persist within specific tissues despite adverse conditions. In many cases, as S. aureus proliferates within an anatomical niche, there is an associated pathology. The immune response, together with medical interventions such as antibiotics, often removes the S. aureus cells that are causing this disease. However, a common issue in S. aureus infections is a relapse of disease. Within infected tissue, S. aureus exists as a population of cells, and it adopts a diversity of cell types. In evolutionary biology, the concept of "bet-hedging" has established that even in positive conditions, there are members that arise within a population that would be present as non-beneficial, but if those conditions change, these traits could allow survival. For S. aureus, some of these cells within an infection have a reduced fitness, are not rapidly proliferating or are the cause of an active host response and disease, but these do remain even after the disease seems to have been cleared. This is true for persistence against immune responses but also as a continual presence in spite of antibiotic treatment. We propose that the constant arousal of suboptimal populations at any timepoint is a key strategy for S. aureus long-term infection and survival. Thus, understanding the molecular basis for this feature could be instrumental to combat persistent infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matipaishe Mashayamombe
- Department of Vascular Surgery, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia
- Discipline of Surgery, Adelaide Medical School, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia
- Basil Hetzel Institute for Translational Research, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia
| | - Miguel Carda-Diéguez
- Department of Health and Genomics, Center for Advanced Research in Public Health, FISABIO Institute, 46020 Valencia, Spain
| | - Alex Mira
- Department of Health and Genomics, Center for Advanced Research in Public Health, FISABIO Institute, 46020 Valencia, Spain
- School of Health and Welfare, Jönköping University, 551 11 Jönköping, Sweden
| | - Robert Fitridge
- Department of Vascular Surgery, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia
- Discipline of Surgery, Adelaide Medical School, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia
- Basil Hetzel Institute for Translational Research, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia
| | - Peter S. Zilm
- Adelaide Dental School, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia
| | - Stephen P. Kidd
- Department of Molecular and Biomedical Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia
- Research Centre for Infectious Disease, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia
- Australian Centre for Antimicrobial Resistance Ecology (ACARE), The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia
- Correspondence:
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Abstract
A method is described in which cells of Staphylococcus aureus can be converted to vesiculated large bodies of L-form. When coccal cells were incubated in a liquid growth medium containing D-cycloserine, N-acetylmuramidase and subtilisin, a large number of vesiculated large bodies were formed. Electron microscopy revealed that development of internal vesicles arose after 6 hr of incubation.. When growth inhibitory concentrations of rifampicin, novobiocin, or chloramphenicol were added to the culture at 6 hr of incubation, small-sized nonvesiculated bodies were produced instead of vesiculated forms. The viability of cultures was reduced by rifampicin and novobiocin but not by chloramphenicol.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Yabu
- Department of Biology, Hokuriku University, Ishikawa
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