Asymmetry and Aging of Mycobacterial Cells Lead to Variable Growth and Antibiotic Susceptibility
Abstract
Treatment of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infections is complicated by the need for a prolonged course of antibiotics to fully eliminate all the bacteria present in an infected individual. Most antibiotics target growth and division machinery; thus, Aldridge et al. (p. 100 , published online 15 November) postulated that heterogeneity in the growth properties of mycobacterial cells underlies variable antibiotic susceptibility. Cell division in mycobacteria was found to be asymmetrical, with one cell inheriting the growing pole and elongating rapidly, while the other cell elongated more slowly. Over multiple cell divisions, the rapidly growing cells became more susceptible to antibiotic treatment, helping to explain the observed heterogeneity in response to antibiotic therapy.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Jan 06, 2012
- Source ID
- 10.1126/science.1216166
Entities
People
- Bree B. Aldridge
- Daniel Irimia
- Danielle Heller
- Marta Fernandez-suarez
- Mehmet Toner
- Sarah M. Fortune
- Vijay Ambravaneswaran
Organizations
- Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
- Massachusetts General Hospital
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering
- National Institutes of Health
- United States Army