Correlation of Cell Growth Dynamics Under Stress with Antibiotic Persistence

Synopsis

Cells respond to stress by adapting to changes in external conditions. Under extreme conditions, this can cause cells to enter a state that prevents further cell growth. I will present an investigation of such cell growth dynamics. When exposed to acute stress, a small portion of a cell population enters a dormant state, which persists even after the cells are transferred back to growth conditions. The dormant cells can survive antibiotic exposure levels that are lethal for other cells. The statistics of these regrowth dynamics can be described by a model for the cellular network that ignores most of the details of the underlying molecular interactions. This model may help to explain both how cells respond to antibiotics and why it has been difficult to link this response to specific genes.