Evidence map›Paper›PMID 22865841›Full record

ArticleJournal of bacteriology2012

Phenotype switching is a natural consequence of Staphylococcus aureus replication.

Andrew M Edwards

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of bacteriology, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 48 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
48citing papers in PubMed
2.7field-weighted citation impact, top 10% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

48 citing papers in PubMed, 80 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
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  10. AIMS microbiology · 2023
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  11. Triclosan-resistant small-colony variants ofMicrobiology (Reading, England) · 2023
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  14. FunctionalJournal of bacteriology · 2022
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  15. Intracellular Habitation ofBiomedicines · 2022
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  18. Biofilm and Small Colony Variants-An Update onInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2022
    Review
  19. The road to success of coagulase-negative staphylococci: clinical significance of small colony variants and their pathogenic role in persistent infections.European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology · 2021
    Review
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.

Andrew M EdwardsMRC Centre for Molecular Bacteriology and Infection, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom. a.edwards@imperial.ac.uk
Imperial College London · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The pathogen Staphylococcus aureus undergoes phenotype switching in vivo from its normal colony phenotype (NCP) to a slow-growing, antibiotic-resistant small-colony-variant (SCV) phenotype that is associated with persistence in host cells and tissues. However, it is not clear whether phenotype switching is the result of a constitutive process that is selected for under certain conditions or is triggered by particular environmental stimuli. Examination of cultures of diverse S. aureus strains in the absence of selective pressure consistently revealed a small gentamicin-resistant SCV subpopulation that emerged during exponential-phase NCP growth and increased in number until NCP stationary phase. Treatment of replicating bacteria with the antibiotic gentamicin, which inhibited NCP but not SCV replication, resulted in an initial decrease in SCV numbers, demonstrating that SCVs arise as a consequence of NCP replication. However, SCV population expansion in the presence of gentamicin was reestablished by selection of phenotype-stable SCVs and subsequent SCV replication. In the absence of selective pressure, however, phenotype switching was bidirectional and occurred at a high frequency during NCP replication, resulting in SCV turnover. In summary, these data demonstrate that S. aureus phenotype switching occurs via a constitutive mechanism that generates a dynamic, antibiotic-resistant subpopulation of bacteria that can revert to the parental phenotype. The emergence of SCVs can therefore be considered a normal part of the S. aureus life cycle and provides an insurance policy against exposure to antibiotics that would otherwise eliminate the entire population.

Indexed as

Adaptation, PhysiologicalAnti-Bacterial AgentsBacteriological TechniquesCell DivisionDrug Resistance, BacterialGentamicinsHumansMicrobial Sensitivity TestsPhenotypeSelection, GeneticStaphylococcal InfectionsStaphylococcus aureusAnti-Bacterial AgentsGentamicins

Identifiers

PMID22865841
PMCPMC3457229
OpenAlexW2083492619

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.