(623d) Bacterial Persistence and Motility

Bacterial persisters form a tiny fraction of a normal bacterial culture and are able to tolerate antibiotics even though these cells do not possess genes that confer resistance. Persister cells typically survive by remaining dormant in the presence of antibiotics while the rest of the population perishes. As persistence may cause the regeneration of a new bacterial population once the antibiotics are removed, it is likely to promote recalcitrance of infections. Here, we studied persister formation in motile strains of Escherichia coli. We analyzed motility in so-called persisters as an indirect measure of cell dormancy. Motility was quantified with standard video microscopy and cell tracking algorithms. I will present the results of our investigations of the relationship between motility and persistence with our single cell techniques. We anticipate that our assays will enable future studies on the stochastic nature of persistence.