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Persistence against benzalkonium chloride promotes rapid evolution of tolerance during periodic disinfection

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  • Niclas Nordholt

    (Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM))

  • Orestis Kanaris

    (Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM))

  • Selina B. I. Schmidt

    (Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM))

  • Frank Schreiber

    (Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM))

Abstract

Biocides used as disinfectants are important to prevent the transmission of pathogens, especially during the current antibiotic resistance crisis. This crisis is exacerbated by phenotypically tolerant persister subpopulations that can survive transient antibiotic treatment and facilitate resistance evolution. Here, we show that E. coli displays persistence against a widely used disinfectant, benzalkonium chloride (BAC). Periodic, persister-mediated failure of disinfection rapidly selects for BAC tolerance, which is associated with reduced cell surface charge and mutations in the lpxM locus, encoding an enzyme for lipid A biosynthesis. Moreover, the fitness cost incurred by BAC tolerance turns into a fitness benefit in the presence of antibiotics, suggesting a selective advantage of BAC-tolerant mutants in antibiotic environments. Our findings highlight the links between persistence to disinfectants and resistance evolution to antimicrobials.

Suggested Citation

  • Niclas Nordholt & Orestis Kanaris & Selina B. I. Schmidt & Frank Schreiber, 2021. "Persistence against benzalkonium chloride promotes rapid evolution of tolerance during periodic disinfection," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-13, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:12:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-021-27019-8
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-27019-8
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Peter S. Swain & Keiran Stevenson & Allen Leary & Luis F. Montano-Gutierrez & Ivan B.N. Clark & Jackie Vogel & Teuta Pilizota, 2016. "Inferring time derivatives including cell growth rates using Gaussian processes," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 7(1), pages 1-8, December.
    2. Ofer Fridman & Amir Goldberg & Irine Ronin & Noam Shoresh & Nathalie Q. Balaban, 2014. "Optimization of lag time underlies antibiotic tolerance in evolved bacterial populations," Nature, Nature, vol. 513(7518), pages 418-421, September.
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    1. Erica J. Zheng & Ian W. Andrews & Alexandra T. Grote & Abigail L. Manson & Miguel A. Alcantar & Ashlee M. Earl & James J. Collins, 2022. "Modulating the evolutionary trajectory of tolerance using antibiotics with different metabolic dependencies," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-11, December.

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