Active maintenance of proton motive force mediates starvation-induced bacterial antibiotic tolerance in Escherichia coli

• DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-02612-1
• Publication Date: 2021-09-14T10:03:16Z
• Authors: Miaomiao Wang; Edward Wai Chi Chan; Yingkun Wan; Marcus Ho-yin Wong; Sheng Chen
• Keywords: Multidrug tolerance

Recent evidence suggests that metabolic shutdown alone does not fully explain how bacteria exhibit phenotypic antibiotic tolerance. In an attempt to investigate the range of starvation-induced physiological responses underlying tolerance development, we found active maintenance transmembrane proton motive force (PMF) is essential for prolonged expression in bacteria. Eradication tolerant sub-population could be achieved by disruption PMF using ionophore CCCP, or through suppression mechanisms simultaneous inhibition phage shock protein (Psp) response and electron transport chain (ETC) complex activities. We consider bacterial a feasible strategy treatment chronic recurrent infections.