title: Population dynamics of bacterial persistence.
abstract: Persistence is a prime example of phenotypic heterogeneity, where a microbial population splits into two distinct subpopulations with different growth and survival properties as a result of reversible phenotype switching. Specifically, persister cells grow more slowly than normal cells under unstressed growth conditions, but survive longer under stress conditions such as the treatment with bactericidal antibiotics. We analyze the population dynamics of such a population for several typical experimental scenarios, namely a constant environment, shifts between growth and stress conditions, and periodically switching environments. We use an approximation scheme that allows us to map the dynamics to a logistic equation for the subpopulation ratio and derive explicit analytical expressions for observable quantities that can be used to extract underlying dynamic parameters from experimental data. Our results provide a theoretical underpinning for the study of phenotypic switching, in particular for organisms where detailed mechanistic knowledge is scarce.
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Science Park Golm, Potsdam, Germany. pintu.patra@mpikg.mpg.de
authors.forename: Pintu
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Patra
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Klumpp
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development*; D058491:Bacterial Load; D018407:Bacterial Physiological Phenomena / Q000187:drug effects; D002999:Clone Cells; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D059013:Microbial Consortia / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D015233:Models, Statistical
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents