Persisters are bacterial cells able to survive killing by antibiotics. This antibiotic tolerance is mechanistically distinct from resistance. Persisters are not mutants but phenotypic variants. We are interested in genetic mechanism(s) underlying formation of persister fraction within genetically identical antibiotic-susceptible population of bacteria. Understanding these mechanisms is important in order to get a complete and realistic picture of pathogens during the infection and antibiotic treatment, especially in the case of chronic and relapsing infections. In addition there is an interest in uncovering the mechanism of generation of phenotypic diversity and its role and significance in evolution.
Articles
Ciprofloxacin causes persister formation by inducing the TisB toxin in Escherichia coli (with Tobias Dörr and Kim Lewis), Biology Faculty Publications (2010)
Bacteria induce stress responses that protect the cell from lethal factors such as DNA-damaging agents....
SOS response induces persistence to fluoroquinolones in Escherichia coli (with Tobias Dörr and Kim Lewis), Biology Faculty Publications (2009)
Bacteria can survive antibiotic treatment without acquiring heritable antibiotic resistance. We investigated persistence to the...