title: Antibiotic tolerance and the alternative lifestyles ofStaphylococcus aureus.
abstract: Staphylococcus aureushas an incredible ability to survive, either by adapting to environmental conditions or defending against exogenous stress. Although there are certainly important genetic traits, in part this ability is provided by the breadth of modes of growthS. aureuscan adopt. It has been proposed that while within their host,S. aureussurvives host-generated and therapeutic antimicrobial stress via alternative lifestyles: a persister sub-population, through biofilm growth on host tissue or by growing as small colony variants (SCVs). Key to an understanding of chronic and relapsingS. aureusinfections is determining the molecular basis for its switch to these quasi-dormant lifestyles. In a multicellular biofilm, the metabolically quiescent bacterial community additionally produces a highly protective extracellular polymeric substance (EPS). Furthermore, there are bacteria within a biofilm community that have an altered physiology potentially equivalent to persister cells. Recent studies have directly linked the cellular ATP production by persister cells as their key feature and the basis for their tolerance of a range of antibiotics. In clinical settings, SCVs ofS. aureushave been observed for many years; when cultured, these cells form non-pigmented colonies and are approximately ten times smaller than their counterparts. Various genotypic factors have been identified in attempts to characterizeS. aureusSCVs and different environmental stresses have been implicated as important inducers.
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Infectious Diseases, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia.|Australian Centre for Antimicrobial Resistance Ecology, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia.
authors.forename: Long M G
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Bui
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7290, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Brian P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Conlon
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Infectious Diseases, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia.|Australian Centre for Antimicrobial Resistance Ecology, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia.
authors.forename: Stephen P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Kidd
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial / Q000187:drug effects*; D004734:Energy Metabolism / Q000187:drug effects; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects*; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents
keywords: Antibiotic tolerance; Persister cells; Small Colony Variants; Staphylococcus aureus