• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.854-862
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• 2024

Lactobacillus is a commonly used probiotic, and many researchers have focused on its stress response to improve its functionality and survival. However, studies on persister cells, dormant cells that aid bacteria in surviving general stress, have focused on pathogenic bacteria that cause infection, not Lactobacillus. Thus, understanding Lactobacillus persister cells will provide essential clues for understanding how Lactobacillus survives and maintains its function under various environmental conditions. We treated Lactobacillus strains with various antibiotics to determine the conditions required for persister formation using kill curves and transmission electron microscopy. In addition, we observed the resuscitation patterns of persister cells using single-cell analysis. Our results show that Lactobacillus creates a small population of persister cells (0.0001-1% of the bacterial population) in response to beta-lactam antibiotics such as ampicillin and amoxicillin. Moreover, only around 0.5-1% of persister cells are heterogeneously resuscitated by adding fresh media; the characteristics are typical of persister cells. This study provides a method for forming and verifying the persistence of Lactobacillus and demonstrates that antibiotic-induced Lactobacillus persister cells show characteristics of dormancy, sensitivity of antibiotics, same as exponential cells, multi-drug tolerance, and resuscitation, which are characteristics of general persister cells. This study suggests that the mechanisms of formation and resuscitation may vary depending on the characteristics, such as the membrane structure of the bacterial species.

• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.145-156
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• 2021

Antibiotics are used in many sectors, including the dairy industry, to prevent bacterial infections in humans, animals, and plants. When bacterial cells are exposed to stressors, such as antibiotic exposure, a subpopulation of the cells becomes dormant. This helps the pathogen to revive and reconstitute its pathogenicity. Thus, eradicating the dormant cells may be an effective strategy to reduce the development of antibiotic resistance in bacteria caused by the abuse of antibiotics. In recent years, a large number of indole-related compounds have been reported to eradicate persister cells. In this review, we provide a summary of the mechanisms of persister cell formation and resuscitation, and the ability of indole and substituted indoles to eradicate persister cells.

• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.157-162
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• 2023

In the field of microbiology, numerous types of bacteria live dormant to survive stresses such as pasteurization and antibiotics. Some bacteria become 'persisters' by inactivating their ribosomes, allowing them to 'sleep' through stress and revive when the stress has been removed. Under stress, some cells morph into hollow, lifeless structures known as 'cell shells.' In microbiology, these cells have been confused with viable cells in the 'viable but non-culturable cells' phenomenon. Therefore, this review addressed the concept that when revival occurs, the always-viable persister cells revive, instead of the dead cell husks.