Bacterial charity work leads to population-wide resistance

Henry H. Lee, Michael N. Molla, Charles R. Cantor and James J. Collins ()
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Henry H. Lee: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Center for BioDynamics
Michael N. Molla: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Center for BioDynamics
Charles R. Cantor: Center for Advanced Biotechnology, Boston University
James J. Collins: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Center for BioDynamics

Nature, 2010, vol. 467, issue 7311, 82-85

Abstract: Charitable bacteria protect antibiotic-susceptible kin The emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains is a growing threat in clinical environments, but the process by which they arise is not well understood. Experiments using a continuous culture of Escherichia coli exposed to increasing concentrations of an antibiotic show that a few spontaneous drug-resistant mutants can protect the majority of the population. These highly resistant isolates produce the signalling molecule indole, which activates drug efflux pumps and other protective mechanisms in susceptible kin. This altruism allows weaker constituents to survive and to have the chance of beneficial mutation. More work on the use of intracellular communication by bacteria may prove of value for the rational design of clinical interventions to control resistant bacterial infections.

Date: 2010
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DOI: 10.1038/nature09354

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