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  • 10241024314588251251272285308308108664PublicAssets/5751Antibiotic resistance in microbes is a serious health concern. So researchers have turned their attention to how bacteria undo the action of some antibiotics. Here, scientists set out to find the conditions that help individual bacterial cells survive in the presence of the antibiotic rifampicin. The research team used <i>Mycobacterium smegmatis</i>, a more harmless relative of <i>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</i>, which infects the lung and other organs and causes serious disease. <Br><Br>In this image, genetically identical mycobacteria are growing in a miniature growth chamber called a microfluidic chamber. Using live imaging, the researchers found that individual mycobacteria will respond differently to the antibiotic, depending on the growth stage and other timing factors. The researchers used genetic tagging with green fluorescent protein to distinguish cells that can resist rifampicin and those that cannot. With this gene tag, cells tolerant of the antibiotic light up in green and those that are susceptible in violet, enabling the team to monitor the cells' responses in real time. <Br><Br> To learn more about how the researchers studied antibiotic resistance in mycobacteria, see <a href="http://now.tufts.edu/news-releases/individual-mycobacteria-respond-differently-antibiotics-based-growth-and-timing">this news release from Tufts University</a>. Related to <a href="/Pages/DetailPage.aspx?imageID2=5752">video 5752</a>.Bree Aldridge, Tufts UniversityBree Aldridge, Tufts UniversityPhotograph

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    Genetically identical mycobacteria respond differently to antibiotic 1

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    Antibiotic resistance in microbes is a serious health concern. So researchers have turned their attention to how bacteria undo the action of some antibiotics. Here, scientists set out to find the conditions that help individual bacterial cells survive in the presence of the antibiotic rifampicin. The research team used Mycobacterium smegmatis, a more harmless relative of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which infects the lung and other organs and causes serious disease.

    In this image, genetically identical mycobacteria are growing in a miniature growth chamber called a microfluidic chamber. Using live imaging, the researchers found that individual mycobacteria will respond differently to the antibiotic, depending on the growth stage and other timing factors. The researchers used genetic tagging with green fluorescent protein to distinguish cells that can resist rifampicin and those that cannot. With this gene tag, cells tolerant of the antibiotic light up in green and those that are susceptible in violet, enabling the team to monitor the cells' responses in real time.

    To learn more about how the researchers studied antibiotic resistance in mycobacteria, see this news release from Tufts University. Related to video 5752.

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    Bree Aldridge, Tufts University

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    Bree Aldridge, Tufts University

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    Photograph

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    5751

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