Project

In our laboratory we focus on the single-cell biology of tuberculosis. Phenotypic variation helps bacterial cells to endure stressful environmental conditions, and is one of the possible causes of antibiotic persistence and chronic infections. We have recently demonstrated that phenotypic variation is indeed associated with a different response to a class of antimicrobials, in particular in subpopulations of mycobacteria experiencing different levels of DNA damage. Therefore, targeting phenotypic variation may prove to be a successful strategy to weaken the population and to make it more susceptible to antimicrobials. To probe and target phenotypic variation in mycobacteria, we use time-lapse microfluidic microscopy and spatiotemporal analysis of individual cells and microcolonies. We have recently completed a screening for compounds that target phenotypic variation, generating a large dataset of image sequences. Here we aim to develop an automated and user-friendly software for the analysis of image sequences of bacterial microcolonies. This analysis platform will serve to study not only the physiology of mycobacteria but also of other bacterial species. In conclusion, this analytical tool could be very useful for the microbiology community dealing with live single-cell imaging.