Density-dependent adaptive resistance allows swimming bacteria to colonize an antibiotic gradient

During antibiotic treatment, antibiotic concentration gradients develop. Little is know regarding the effects of antibiotic gradients on populations of nonresistant bacteria. Using a microfluidic device, we show that high-density motile Escherichia coli populations composed of nonresistant bacteria can, unexpectedly, colonize environments where a lethal concentration of the antibiotic kanamycin is present. Colonizing bacteria establish an adaptively resistant population, which remains viable for over 24 h while exposed to the antibiotic. Quantitative analysis of multiple colonization events shows that collectively swimming bacteria need to exceed a critical population density in order to successfully colonize the antibiotic landscape. After colonization, bacteria are not dormant but show both growth and swimming motility under antibiotic stress. Our results highlight the importance of motility and population density in facilitating adaptive resistance, and indicate that adaptive resistance may be a first step to the emergence of genetically encoded resistance in landscapes of antibiotic gradients.     

A low-cost antifoam additive for agar-based culture media

A highly effective, low-cost silicone-based antifoam emulsion is described which, at a final concentration of 100 ppm, prevents bubble formation during the preparation and dispensing of agar media. The compound is heat-stable, has a long shelf-life and offers considerable savings in cost by reduction in wastage of time and materials. It has no demonstrable deleterious effect on the growth of a wide range of pathogenic and commensal bacteria, or on antibiotic disc susceptibility testing, when examined using a range of different media.     

A low-cost antifoam additive for agar-based culture media

A highly effective, low-cost silicone-based antifoam emulsion is described which, at a final concentration of 100 ppm, prevents bubble formation during the preparation and dispensing of agar media. The compound is heat-stable, has a long shelf-life and offers considerable savings in cost by reduction in wastage of time and materials. It has no demonstrable deleterious effect on the growth of a wide range of pathogenic and commensal bacteria, or on antibiotic disc susceptibility testing, when examined using a range of different media.     

A simple and rapid method for the elimination of R plasmids from enteric bacteria

A rapid, simple, and effective method for the curing of a wide range ofEscherichia coli antibiotic resistance plasmids is described. Treatment with acridine orange followed by growth in sublethal concentration of antibiotics and penicillin selection under such bacteriostatic conditions resulted in a curing efficiency of more than 98% in all cases tested. The method is equally applicable, with modifications, to other enteric bacteria such asKlebsiella pneumoniae. It is also equally applicable to nutritional markers for which toxic analogues exist, and to elimination of recombinant bacteriophages containing antibiotic resistance transposons.     

Effect of temperature and arsenic on Aeromonas hydrophila growth,a modelling approach

Aeromonas hydrophila is frequently reported from arsenic affected areas. Present study was aimed to determine the effect of arsenic and temperature on growth of A. hydrophila. The bacteria were isolated from naturally infected fish from a water body in Birbhum, West-Bengal, India, which is reported to be an arsenic-free area. Arsenic concentration in natural aquatic reservoirs (e.g., pond, lake or river) varies from 0–6 mg/L. No significant change in bacterial growth was observed within this range of arsenic exposure. However, variation in temperature impacted the growth of A. hydrophila. A single dimension model was constructed using simple logistic equation. Rate parameters of the model were derived from the experimental observations. Comparison of model results and laboratory observations gives a good conformity regarding the effect of variation of arsenic concentration and temperature change on growth of this bacterium. From the analysis of this model we further get the idea that the maximum growth of A. hydrophila is supposed to be at 31.4°C in absence of arsenic, whereas at 477 mg/L arsenic concentration, the growth of the bacteria totally stops at 30°C.     

Accumulation in gram-postive and gram-negative bacteria as a mechanism of resistance to erythromycin

Erythromycin was recovered in high yield after incubation with gram-negative bacteria. The cell-free protein-synthesizing preparation from gram-negative bacteria is equally as susceptible to the antibiotic as is that from gram-positive bacteria. Thus, neither destruction of erythromycin nor the absence of the step susceptible to the antibiotic plays an important role in the resistance mechanism of gram-negative bacteria. A 100-fold difference in accumulation of erythromycin between gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria was observed. This alone explains the resistance of gram-negative bacteria to erythromycin. Furthermore, data showed that the inhibition of growth is closely related to the accumulation of erythromycin. The concentration of intracellular erythromycin in gram-positive bacteria was found to be 44- to 90-fold greater than that of the extracellular medium. However, the antibiotic did not accumulate on the cell walls, nor was the accumulation energy-dependent. It is proposed that it takes place by the binding of erythromycin to the bacterial ribosomes, forming a very stable complex. The dissociation constants of erythromycin-Staphylococcus aureus complex and erythromycin-Bacillus subtilis complex were determined to be 1.1 x 10(-7) and 3.4 x 11(-7)m, respectively.     

Optimal Combination and Concentration of Antibiotics in Media for Isolation of Pathogenic Fungi and Nocardia asteroides

Strains of Blastomyces dermatitidis, Sporothrix schenckii, Histoplasma capsulatum, Cryptococcus neoformans, Nocardia asteroides, and Coccidioides immitis were tested for in vitro susceptibility to polymyxin, gentamicin, kanamycin, chloramphenicol, and neomycin at concentrations of 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 mug/ml. Polymyxin was the most inhibitory and gentamicin was the least inhibitory of the five antibiotics. Two Histoplasma mycelial strains were partially inhibited by 2 and 8 mug of gentamicin per ml and showed at least a 2+ growth at the higher antibiotic concentration. Kanamycin and neomycin produced significant inhibition of N. asteroides but otherwise were noninhibitory. A combination of chloramphenicol and kanamycin, each at 16 mug/ml, and gentamicin, at 4 mug/ml, was noninhibitory to the strains tested except for N. asteroides. Chloramphenicol at 16 mug/ml was not inhibitory for N. asteroides. The results suggest that the optimal antibiotic combination to use in the isolation of fungi and higher bacteria is chloramphenicol, 16 mug/ml, and gentamicin, 4 mug/ml. Addition of sheep blood (5%) had no effect on antibiotic susceptibility of the organisms studied.     

一株奇异变形杆菌对铜绿假单胞菌多细胞行为的抑制作用*

摘要目的：抗生素耐药性成为了全球性的健康问题。研究发现病原菌的多细胞行为在抗生素的耐药性中起着至关重要的作用 （尤其是生物膜）,因而通过抑制多细胞行为而控制耐药性成为当务之急。本文以奇异变形杆菌（Proteus Mirabilis ）为研究对象,考 察它的发酵滤液对一种机会致病菌———铜绿假单胞菌（ Pseudomonas aeruginose）多细胞行为的作用,以期得到一株多细胞行为抑 制菌：在不影响 P.aeruginosa 生长的前提下,抑制生物膜形成、EPS 产生以及定向丛集运动,解除保护,减缓扩散,为降低P.aeruginosa 耐药性,增强抗生素作用效果提供可能。方法：采用结晶紫生物膜测定法、蒽酮-硫酸法、平板检测法,探究P.aeruginosa 发酵滤 液对P.aeruginosa 生物膜、胞外多聚物、定向丛集运动和生长的影响。结果： P.aeruginosa 发酵滤液能显著抑制生物膜 量,在体积百分比浓度为1 %时,抑制率可达60.9 %。该菌的发酵滤液还能阻碍的定向丛集运动,减弱它的吸附和扩 散运动;同时,也减少了P.aeruginosa 胞外多聚物的产量,在滤液体积百分比浓度为1 %时,抑制率达到45.9%。更重要的是,固体 平板实验证明该发酵滤液对P.aeruginosa 的生长没有影响。结论： 在不影响病原菌生长的前提下,对病原菌的多细胞 行为有一定的控制作用。其发酵滤液中存在着抑制微生物膜、定向丛集运动等的成分,在治疗细菌感染性疾病和降低抗生素耐药 性方面有潜在应用价值。     

The kinetics of glycol destruction by a Pseudomonas putida BS-2 strain]

Destruction of ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol by Pseudomonas putida BS-2 culture under conditions of its batch cultivation has been studied for its physiological regularities. The specific rate of the biomass growth in the region of limiting substrate concentrations depends on the diethylene glycol concentration in the medium and follows the Mono equation. A semisaturation constant for diethylene glycol is 209 +/- 17 mg/d. The specific rate of the culture growth is independent of the ethylene glycol concentration in the medium within a wide range from 0.08 to 10 g/l. Kinetics of the bacteria growth inhibition by excess of substrates is a complex character and obeys none of the known models of the substrate inhibition.     

一株奇异变形杆菌对铜绿假单胞菌多细胞行为的抑制作用

目的：抗生素耐药性成为了全球性的健康问题。研究发现病原菌的多细胞行为在抗生素的耐药性中起着至关重要的作用（尤其是生物膜）,因而通过抑制多细胞行为而控制耐药性成为当务之急。本文以奇异变形杆菌（Proteus mirabilis）为研究对象,考察它的发酵滤液对一种机会致病菌——铜绿假单胞菌（Pseudomonas aeruginosa）多细胞行为的作用,以期得到一株多细胞行为抑制菌：在不影响Paerugiliosa生长的前提下,抑制生物膜形成、EPS产生以及定向丛集运动,解除保护,减缓扩散,为降低Paemgi—nosa耐药性,增强抗生素作用效果提供可能。方法：采用结晶紫生物膜测定法、蒽酮一硫酸法、平板检测法,探究Pmirabilis发酵滤液对Paemginosa生物膜、胞外多聚物、定向丛集运动和生长的影响。结果：Pmirabilis发酵滤液能显著抑制Paeruginosa生物膜量,在体积百分比浓度为1％时,抑制率可达60．9％。该菌的发酵滤液还能阻碍Paeruginosa的定向丛集运动,减弱它的吸附和扩散运动;同时,也减少了Pacrugillosa胞外多聚物的产量,在滤液体积百分比浓度为1％时,抑制率达到45．9％。更重要的是,固体平板实验证明该发酵滤液对P．aemginosa的生长没有影响。结论：Pmirabilis在不影响病原菌生长的前提下,对病原菌的多细胞行为有一定的控制作用。其发酵滤液中存在着抑制微生物膜、定向丛集运动等的成分,在治疗细菌感染性疾病和降低抗生素耐药性方面有潜在应用价值。     

Methods to Inhibit Bacterial Pyomelanin Production and Determine the Corresponding Increase in Sensitivity to Oxidative Stress

Pyomelanin is an extracellular red-brown pigment produced by several bacterial and fungal species. This pigment is derived from the tyrosine catabolism pathway and contributes to increased oxidative stress resistance. Pyomelanin production in Pseudomonas aeruginosa is reduced in a dose dependent manner through treatment with 2-[2-nitro-4-(trifluoromethyl)benzoyl]-1,3-cyclohexanedione (NTBC). We describe a titration method using multiple concentrations of NTBC to determine the concentration of drug that will reduce or abolish pyomelanin production in bacteria. The titration method has an easily quantifiable outcome, a visible reduction in pigment production with increasing drug concentrations. We also describe a microtiter plate method to assay antibiotic minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) in bacteria. This method uses a minimum of resources and can easily be scaled up to test multiple antibiotics in one microtiter plate for one strain of bacteria. The MIC assay can be adapted to test the affects of non-antibiotic compounds on bacterial growth at specific concentrations. Finally, we describe a method for testing bacterial sensitivity to oxidative stress by incorporating H₂O₂ into agar plates and spotting multiple dilutions of bacteria onto the plates. Sensitivity to oxidative stress is indicated by reductions in colony number and size for the different dilutions on plates containing H₂O₂ compared to a no H₂O₂ control. The oxidative stress spot plate assay uses a minimum of resources and low concentrations of H₂O₂. Importantly, it also has good reproducibility. This spot plate assay could be adapted to test bacterial sensitivity to various compounds by incorporating the compounds in agar plates and characterizing the resulting bacterial growth.     

Genomic Analysis Reveals Distinct Concentration-Dependent Evolutionary Trajectories for Antibiotic Resistance in Escherichia coli

Evolution of bacteria under sublethal concentrations of antibiotics represents a trade-off between growth and resistance to the antibiotic. To understand this trade-off, we performed in vitro evolution of laboratory Escherichia coli under sublethal concentrations of the aminoglycoside kanamycin over short time durations. We report that fixation of less costly kanamycin-resistant mutants occurred earlier in populations growing at lower sublethal concentration of the antibiotic, compared with those growing at higher sublethal concentrations; in the latter, resistant mutants with a significant growth defect persisted longer. Using deep sequencing, we identified kanamycin resistance-conferring mutations, which were costly or not in terms of growth in the absence of the antibiotic. Multiple mutations in the C-terminal end of domain IV of the translation elongation factor EF-G provided low-cost resistance to kanamycin. Despite targeting the same or adjacent residues of the protein, these mutants differed from each other in the levels of resistance they provided. Analysis of one of these mutations showed that it has little defect in growth or in synthesis of green fluorescent protein (GFP) from an inducible plasmid in the absence of the antibiotic. A second class of mutations, recovered only during evolution in higher sublethal concentrations of the antibiotic, deleted the C-terminal end of the ATP synthase shaft. This mutation confers basal-level resistance to kanamycin while showing a strong growth defect in the absence of the antibiotic. In conclusion, the early dynamics of the development of resistance to an aminoglycoside antibiotic is dependent on the levels of stress (concentration) imposed by the antibiotic, with the evolution of less costly variants only a matter of time.     

THE TOXIC DINOFLAGELLATE GYMNODINIUM CATENATUM (DINOPHYCEAE) REQUIRES MARINE BACTERIA FOR GROWTH1

Interactions with the bacterial community are increasingly considered to have a significant influence on marine phytoplankton populations. Here we used a simplified dinoflagellate‐bacterium experimental culture model to conclusively demonstrate that the toxic dinoflagellate Gymnodinium catenatum H. W. Graham requires growth‐stimulatory marine bacteria for postgermination survival and growth, from the point of resting cyst germination through to vegetative growth at bloom concentrations (10³ cells · mL^?1). Cysts of G. catenatum were germinated and grown in unibacterial coculture with antibiotic‐resistant or antibiotic‐sensitive Marinobacter sp. DG879 or Brachybacterium sp., and with mixtures of these two bacteria. Addition of antibiotics to cultures grown with antibiotic‐sensitive strains of bacteria resulted in death of the dinoflagellate culture, whereas cultures grown with antibiotic‐resistant bacteria survived antibiotic addition and continued to grow beyond the 21 d experiment. Removal of either bacterial type from mixed‐bacterial dinoflagellate cultures (using an antibiotic) resulted in cessation of dinoflagellate growth until bacterial concentration recovered to preaddition concentrations, suggesting that the bacterial growth factors are used for dinoflagellate growth or are labile. Examination of published reports of axenic dinoflagellate culture indicate that a requirement for bacteria is not universal among dinoflagellates, but rather that species may vary in their relative reliance on, and relationship with, the bacterial community. The experimental model approach described here solves a number of inherent and logical problems plaguing studies of algal‐bacterium interactions and provides a flexible and tractable tool that can be extended to examine bacterial interactions with other phytoplankton species.     

Development of a method for the quantitative assessment of the microorganism sensitivity to antibiotics by using discs. A study of the patterns of doxycycline diffusion from discs into the nutrient agar]

Doxycycline concentrations provided by the antibiotic diffusion from paper discs into sterile agarized medium and the medium plated with staphylococci and Coli bacteria were studied at different distances from the disc center. Infection of the nutrient medium with the test cultures had no effect on the antibiotic diffusion rate. A linear relation between the logarithm of the antibiotic concentration in the agar and distance from the disc centre were found. Probably it is possible to determine the MIC of the antibiotic with respect to various microorganisms by the value of the radius of the growth inhibition zone around the disc using diagrams expressing such a relation.     

Evaluating biofilm growth of two oral pathogens

AIMS: To determine the expediency of a microtitre assay system for establishing, quantifying and antimicrobial testing of two representative oral pathogens. METHODS AND RESULTS: Streptococcus mutans and Porphyromonas gingivalis were used. Morphological characteristics of the attached population were evaluated. Biofilm growth was evaluated spectrophotometrically (undisturbed and 1 N NaOH dissipated biofilm). The minimum concentration of chlorhexidine gluconate that inhibited biofilm growth was determined. Growth of the biofilms was successfully monitored by direct optical density measurements or those re-suspended in 1 N NaOH. The latter was necessary when glucans were present in Strep. mutans biofilms. The minimum concentration of chlorhexidine gluconate that inhibited biofilm growth was 1.25 microg ml(-1) for both species. The attached bacteria exhibited common biofilm characteristics. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The assay system developed was especially useful for monitoring the growth of adherent Strep. mutans in the presence of glucans, which is particularly significant for the study of anti-plaque chemicals.     

The time course of hydrolysis of a beta-lactam antibiotic by intact gram-negative bacteria possessing a periplasmic beta-lactamase.

An equation is derived from first principles for describing the change in concentration with time of a beta-lactam antibiotic in the presence of intact Gram-negative bacteria possessing a beta-lactamase located in the periplasmic space. The equation predicts a first-order decline in beta-lactam concentration of the form [S] = [Si]e lambda t, where [S] is the exogenous concentration of beta-lactam, [Si] is the value of [S] at time zero, t is the time from mixing of cells and antibiotic and lambda (less than 0) is the decay constant. The value of lambda is exactly described by the theory in terms of experimentally measurable quantities. Quantitative data concerning cephaloridine hydrolysis by intact cells of Haemophilus influenzae agreed well with the theory, as did data concerning the uptake of 2-nitrophenyl galactoside by intact cells of Escherichia coli. Cephalosporin C hydrolysis by intact cells of Pseudomonas aeruginosa did not progress as predicted by the theory. The theory is applicable to any substrate which is acted on by an enzyme that is located solely in the periplasmic space and that obeys the Michaelis-Menten equation of enzyme kinetics.     

Antibacterial activity of 7-aminocholesterol, a new sterol

Abstract A new sterol, 7-aminocholesterol, which inhibits growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae , also displayed antibiotic activity against Gram-positive bacteria. The 50% growth inhibitory concentration against strains of Listeria innocua L. monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus hirae and Bacillus cereus was 3 μM.     

A note on an antimicrobial agent in disc paper and a modified assay procedure for detecting antimicrobials in milk

Commercially available disc paper used for antibiotic sensitivity tests was shown to contain an unidentified, water-soluble agent inhibitory to Bacillus stearothermophilus which gave false positive results in an antimicrobial assay for milk. The agent however, was found to be inactive against a range of common pathogenic bacteria. It was easily removed by washing the discs in distilled water before use.     

A note on an antimicrobial agent in disc paper and a modified assay procedure for detecting antimicrobials in milk

Commercially available disc paper used for antibiotic sensitivity tests was shown to contain an unidentified, water-soluble agent inhibitory to Bacillus stearothermophilus which gave false positive results in an antimicrobial assay for milk. The agent however, was found to be inactive against a range of common pathogenic bacteria. It was easily removed by washing the discs in distilled water before use.     

In vitro activity of a new glycopeptide antibiotic eremomycin in relation to obligate anaerobic Gram-positive bacteria]

Antibacterial activity of eremomycin, a novel glycopeptide antibiotic, against obligate anaerobic Gram-positive++ bacteria was studied. Eremomycin was shown to inhibit the growth of obligate anaerobic Gram-positive++ cocci and bacteria belonging to Clostridium in rather low concentrations and within narrow ranges of the MIC which was indicative of the antibiotic undoubted advantages. The antibacterial activity of eremomycin was 2 times as high as that of vancomycin and 8 times as high as that of ristomycin with respect to Gram-positive++ anaerobic cocci. Pathogenic strains of Clostridium spp. were 2 to 4 times more sensitive to eremomycin than to vancomycin. A significant property of the novel glycopeptide antibiotic was shown to be its capacity for inhibiting the growth of Gram-positive++ aerobic and obligate anaerobic cocci within the same concentration ranges which might be of importance in monotherapy of mixed aerobic and anaerobic infections.