• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.31 no.1
• /
• pp.130-136
• /
• 2021

Persister cell formation and biofilms of pathogens are extensively involved in the development of chronic infectious diseases. Eradicating persister cells is challenging, owing to their tolerance to conventional antibiotics, which cannot kill cells in a metabolically dormant state. A high frequency of persisters in biofilms makes inactivating biofilm cells more difficult, because the biofilm matrix inhibits antibiotic penetration. Fatty acids may be promising candidates as antipersister or antibiofilm agents, because some fatty acids exhibit antimicrobial effects. We previously reported that fatty acid ethyl esters effectively inhibit Escherichia coli persister formation by regulating an antitoxin. In this study, we screened a fatty acid library consisting of 65 different fatty acid molecules for altered persister formation. We found that undecanoic acid, lauric acid, and N-tridecanoic acid inhibited E. coli BW25113 persister cell formation by 25-, 58-, and 44-fold, respectively. Similarly, these fatty acids repressed persisters of enterohemorrhagic E. coli EDL933. These fatty acids were all medium-chain saturated forms. Furthermore, the fatty acids repressed Enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) biofilm formation (for example, by 8-fold for lauric acid) without having antimicrobial activity. This study demonstrates that medium-chain saturated fatty acids can serve as antipersister and antibiofilm agents that may be applied to treat bacterial infections.

• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
• /
• v.39 no.4
• /
• pp.145-156
• /
• 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
• /
• v.41 no.4
• /
• pp.157-162
• /
• 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.