Antibiotic Tolerance Indicative of Persistence Is Pervasive among Clinical Streptococcus pneumoniae Isolates and Shows Strong Condition Dependence
Nele Geerts, Linda De Vooght, Ioannis Passaris, Peter Delputte, Bram Van den Bergh, Paul Cos
Abstract
S. pneumoniae is considered a serious threat by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention because of rising antibiotic resistance. In addition to resistance, bacteria can also survive lethal antibiotic treatment by developing antibiotic tolerance, more specifically, antibiotic tolerance through persistence. This phenotypic variation seems omnipresent among bacterial life, is linked to therapy failure, and acts as a catalyst for resistance development. This study gives the first proof of the presence of persister cells in S. pneumoniae and shows a high variety in persistence levels among diverse strains, suggesting that persistence is a general trait in S. pneumoniae cultures. Our work advocates for higher interest for persistence in S. pneumoniae as a contributing factor for therapy failure and resistance development.