Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Microbiology

GhoSTly bacterial persisters

Nature Chemical Biology volume 8, pages 812–813 (2012)Cite this article

Subjects

Bacterial persisters consist of a phenotypic subpopulation that survives antibiotic treatment, prolonging infection. The GhoT toxin from the newly discovered ghoS-ghoT toxin-antitoxin system contributes to persistence, most likely by interfering with bacterial inner membrane integrity.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Model for persistence and possible interplay between the MqsR toxin and the ghoST system.

References

  1. Hayes, F. & Van Melderen, L. Crit. Rev. Biochem. Mol. Biol. 46, 386–408 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Wang, X. et al. Nat. Chem. Biol. 8, 855–861 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Allison, K.R., Brynildsen, M.P. & Collins, J.J. Curr. Opin. Microbiol. 14, 593–598 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Wang, X. & Wood, T.K. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 77, 5577–5583 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Bhaya, D., Davison, M. & Barrangou, R. Annu. Rev. Genet. 45, 273–297 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Dörr, T., Vulic, M. & Lewis, K. PLoS Biol. 8, e1000317 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Fozo, E.M. et al. Nucleic Acids Res. 38, 3743–3759 (2010).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Guglielmini, J. & Van Melderen, L. Mob. Genet. Elements 1, 283–290 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Blower, T.R. et al. Nucleic Acids Res. 40, 6158–6173 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Van Melderen, L. Curr. Opin. Microbiol. 13, 781–785 (2010).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laurence Van Melderen is in the Bacterial Genetic and Physiology Laboratory at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium.,

    Laurence Van Melderen

Authors
  1. Laurence Van Melderen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Laurence Van Melderen.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The author declares no competing financial interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Van Melderen, L. GhoSTly bacterial persisters. Nat Chem Biol 8, 812–813 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nchembio.1066

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nchembio.1066

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing