Acid Fasting: Slowed growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis at acidic pH and its role in antibiotic tolerance

  • Friday, March 31, 2017
  • 1:30 PM–2:30 PM
  • Science Building 010

Jacob Baker, Graduate Student in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Michigan State University

Upon encountering the host-relevant environment of acidic pH, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) slows and even arrests growth in a process that requires remodeling of central carbon metabolism. Acidic pH growth arrest is an active process that leads to stress and antibiotic tolerance, with genetic disruption of growth arrest increasing Mtb sensitivity to antibiotic treatment.