Abstract
Antimicrobial tolerance and bacterial persistence are confounding factors in the treatment of recurrent and chronic infections. Here we report that the anti-microbial triclosan increased antibiotic tolerance up to 10,000 fold and amplified persister populations in both Escherichia coli and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Triclosan-mediated protection was dependent on the alarmone ppGpp but independent of growth rate, arguing against a simplistic model in which slow growth is sufficient to confer antibiotic tolerance.
Copyright
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