Bacterial cheating drives the population dynamics of cooperative antibiotic resistance plasmids

Abstract Inactivation of β‐lactam antibiotics by resistant bacteria is a ‘cooperative’ behavior that may allow sensitive bacteria to survive antibiotic treatment. However, the factors that determine the fraction of resistant cells in the bacterial population remain unclear, indicating a fundamental...

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Main Authors: Eugene A Yurtsev, Hui Xiao Chao, Manoshi S Datta, Tatiana Artemova, Jeff Gore
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Springer Nature 2013-08-01
Series:Molecular Systems Biology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/msb.2013.39
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author Eugene A Yurtsev
Hui Xiao Chao
Manoshi S Datta
Tatiana Artemova
Jeff Gore
author_facet Eugene A Yurtsev
Hui Xiao Chao
Manoshi S Datta
Tatiana Artemova
Jeff Gore
author_sort Eugene A Yurtsev
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Inactivation of β‐lactam antibiotics by resistant bacteria is a ‘cooperative’ behavior that may allow sensitive bacteria to survive antibiotic treatment. However, the factors that determine the fraction of resistant cells in the bacterial population remain unclear, indicating a fundamental gap in our understanding of how antibiotic resistance evolves. Here, we experimentally track the spread of a plasmid that encodes a β‐lactamase enzyme through the bacterial population. We find that independent of the initial fraction of resistant cells, the population settles to an equilibrium fraction proportional to the antibiotic concentration divided by the cell density. A simple model explains this behavior, successfully predicting a data collapse over two orders of magnitude in antibiotic concentration. This model also successfully predicts that adding a commonly used β‐lactamase inhibitor will lead to the spread of resistance, highlighting the need to incorporate social dynamics into the study of antibiotic resistance.
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institution Kabale University
issn 1744-4292
language English
publishDate 2013-08-01
publisher Springer Nature
record_format Article
series Molecular Systems Biology
spelling doaj-art-a689449d8dfc47cc86909eaed2e939602025-08-20T03:46:37ZengSpringer NatureMolecular Systems Biology1744-42922013-08-01911810.1038/msb.2013.39Bacterial cheating drives the population dynamics of cooperative antibiotic resistance plasmidsEugene A Yurtsev0Hui Xiao Chao1Manoshi S Datta2Tatiana Artemova3Jeff Gore4Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyDepartment of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyComputational and Systems Biology Program, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyDepartment of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyDepartment of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyAbstract Inactivation of β‐lactam antibiotics by resistant bacteria is a ‘cooperative’ behavior that may allow sensitive bacteria to survive antibiotic treatment. However, the factors that determine the fraction of resistant cells in the bacterial population remain unclear, indicating a fundamental gap in our understanding of how antibiotic resistance evolves. Here, we experimentally track the spread of a plasmid that encodes a β‐lactamase enzyme through the bacterial population. We find that independent of the initial fraction of resistant cells, the population settles to an equilibrium fraction proportional to the antibiotic concentration divided by the cell density. A simple model explains this behavior, successfully predicting a data collapse over two orders of magnitude in antibiotic concentration. This model also successfully predicts that adding a commonly used β‐lactamase inhibitor will lead to the spread of resistance, highlighting the need to incorporate social dynamics into the study of antibiotic resistance.https://doi.org/10.1038/msb.2013.39antibiotic inactivationantibiotic resistancecooperation and cheatingβ‐lactampopulation dynamics
spellingShingle Eugene A Yurtsev
Hui Xiao Chao
Manoshi S Datta
Tatiana Artemova
Jeff Gore
Bacterial cheating drives the population dynamics of cooperative antibiotic resistance plasmids
Molecular Systems Biology
antibiotic inactivation
antibiotic resistance
cooperation and cheating
β‐lactam
population dynamics
title Bacterial cheating drives the population dynamics of cooperative antibiotic resistance plasmids
title_full Bacterial cheating drives the population dynamics of cooperative antibiotic resistance plasmids
title_fullStr Bacterial cheating drives the population dynamics of cooperative antibiotic resistance plasmids
title_full_unstemmed Bacterial cheating drives the population dynamics of cooperative antibiotic resistance plasmids
title_short Bacterial cheating drives the population dynamics of cooperative antibiotic resistance plasmids
title_sort bacterial cheating drives the population dynamics of cooperative antibiotic resistance plasmids
topic antibiotic inactivation
antibiotic resistance
cooperation and cheating
β‐lactam
population dynamics
url https://doi.org/10.1038/msb.2013.39
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AT tatianaartemova bacterialcheatingdrivesthepopulationdynamicsofcooperativeantibioticresistanceplasmids
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