Emergence of antibiotic resistance from multinucleated bacterial filaments

• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1420702111
• Publication Date: 2014-12-10T04:50:54Z
• Authors: Julia Bos; Qiucen Zhang; Saurabh Vyawahare; Elizabeth Rogers; Susan M. Rosenberg; Robert H. Austin
• Keywords: SOS response; Multinucleate

Bacteria can rapidly evolve resistance to antibiotics via the SOS response, a state of high-activity DNA repair and mutagenesis. We explore here first steps this evolution in bacterium Escherichia coli. Induction response by genotoxic antibiotic ciprofloxacin changes E. coli rod shape into multichromosome-containing filaments. show that at subminimal inhibitory concentrations bacterial filament divides asymmetrically repeatedly tip. Chromosome-containing buds are made that, if resistant, propagate nonfilamenting progeny with enhanced as parent dies. propose multinucleated creates an environmental niche where proceed generation improved mutant chromosomes due mutagenic possible recombination new alleles between chromosomes. Our data provide better understanding processes underlying origin single-cell level suggest analogous role eukaryotic aneuploidy condition cancer.