Toxin–antitoxin systems are widespread in bacterial genomes. They are usually composed
of two elements: a toxin that inhibits an essential cellular process and an antitoxin that …

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and persistence are associated with an elevated risk of
treatment failure and relapsing infections. They are thus important drivers of increased …

Persisters are transiently tolerant variants that allow populations to avoid eradication by
antibiotic treatment. Their antibiotic tolerance is non-genetic, not inheritable and results from …

All bacteria form persisters, cells that are multidrug tolerant and therefore able to survive
antibiotic treatment. Due to the low frequencies of persisters in growing bacterial cultures …

Small RNAs are ubiquitously present regulators in all kingdoms of life. Most bacterial and
archaeal small RNAs (sRNAs) act by antisense mechanisms on multiple target mRNAs …

Chronic infections are difficult to treat with antibiotics but are caused primarily by drug-
sensitive pathogens. Dormant persister cells that are tolerant to killing by antibiotics are …

Persisters are dormant variants of regular cells that form stochastically in microbial
populations and are highly tolerant to antibiotics. High persister (hip) mutants of …

Almost all bacteria and many archaea contain genes whose expression inhibits cell growth
and may lead to cell death when overproduced, reminiscent of apoptotic genes in higher …

The majority of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients succumb to a chronic infection of the airway with
Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Paradoxically, pathogenic strains are often susceptible to …

Bacteria induce stress responses that protect the cell from lethal factors such as DNA-
damaging agents. Bacterial populations also form persisters, dormant cells that are highly …