Cooperative behaviors in the evolution of antibiotic resistance

Through a combination of experiments and modeling, I explored how inactivation of antibiotics by antibiotic-resistant bacteria affects the evolution of antibiotic resistance in two simple microbial communities. First, I examined the interaction between a resistant strain and a sensitive strain of the bacteria Escherichia coli in the presence of the [beta]-lactam antibiotic ampicillin. Second, I investigated whether two strains of Escherichia coli can form a cross-protection mutualism in a multi-drug environment containing the antibiotics ampicillin and chloramphenicol. In both experimental systems, I found that inactivation of antibiotics by resistant bacteria is an important cooperative behavior which enables microbes to help each other survive in otherwise lethal antibiotic concentrations. The rich dynamical behaviors that arise even in these simple systems highlight the inherent challenge in deciphering the workings of more complex microbial communities.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2015

Author dc:creator

• Yurtsev, Evgene

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Jeff Gore.

• Physics.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/99284

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/99284