Counting Chromosomes in Individual Bacteria to Quantify Their Impacts on Persistence.

Publication Year
2021

Type

Journal Article
Abstract

Persisters are phenotypic variants within bacterial populations that tolerate antibiotic treatments considerably better than the majority of cells. A phenotypic quality that varies within bacterial populations is the chromosome number of individual cells. One, two, four, or more chromosomes per cell have been observed previously, and the impact of genome copy number can range from gene dosage effects to an inability to perform specific DNA repair functions, such as homologous recombination. We hypothesize that chromosome abundance is an underappreciated phenotypic variable that could impact persistence to antibiotics. Here, we describe methodologies to segregate bacterial populations based on chromosome number, assess the purity of those subpopulations, and suggest assays that could be used to quantify the impacts of genome abundance on persistence.

Journal
Methods Mol Biol
Volume
2357
Pages
125-146
Date Published
2021
ISSN Number
1940-6029
Alternate Journal
Methods Mol Biol
PMCID
7136161
PMID
34590256