Caption
A paper by three University of Vermont researchers to be published Jan. 13, 2016 in Scientific Reports shows that cells in a bacterial community take a communal attitude toward antibiotic resistance, with individual cells assuming, and trading off, varying levels of resistance.
The above time-lapse video demonstrates an element of this finding. The diverse colors at the opening of the video show the range of antibiotic resistance in the bacterial community. The more cyan-hued the cells are, the greater their resistance. After an antibiotic is introduced, the brightest cyan-colored cells "filament," turning into elongated tubes, as a way of surviving the antibiotic. The darker cells, which had the least antibiotic resistance, die, as shown by a red dye indicating cell death. After the antibiotic disappears, the filamented cells will return to normal growth via dividing.
Members of a bacterial community, the study shows, essentially tag team levels of resistance. This finding could have application for how persistent infections like those associated with cystic fibrosis are treated. Altering the frequency and timing of antibiotic treatment could be a way of waiting out an infection as bacteria trade off antibiotic resistance among its members, enabling the drug to kill the entire culture.