DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Is bacterial persistence an altruistic, selfish, or kin-selected social trait?

成为“顽固者”的细菌可以在压力下存活(例如饥饿或使用抗生素)，但不能繁殖。持久者消耗更少的食物，为其他细菌提供更多的食物。这种坚持性特征的进化是因为它帮助个体在压力下生存，还是因为它对细菌群体，特别是近亲有利？计算机模型和在不同条件下用不同的无害细菌混合物进行的实验将被用来研究这个问题。将使用发出不同颜色荧光的细菌，以便可以区分它们。由持续细菌引起的疾病更难治愈，因为它们很难杀死，即使用抗生素杀死相同菌株的活跃个体也是如此。这项研究可能表明，医院的条件和治疗如何影响细菌持久性的快速演变，即使是在单个患者体内。此外，如果坚持实际上是一个个体为了亲戚的共同利益而牺牲自己的成功的例子，那么这个系统可以用来研究合作的演变，在几天的时间里做实验，而在多细胞生物体上做实验需要几十年的时间。本研究将为高中生和本科生提供培训机会。

Bacteria that become "persisters" can survive stress (such as starvation or application of antibiotics), but cannot reproduce. Persisters consume less food, making more food available for other bacteria. Did the persistence trait evolve because it helps individuals to survive stress, or because it is advantageous to bacterial groups, especially close relatives? Computer models and experiments with different mixtures of harmless bacteria under different conditions will be used to investigate this issue. Bacteria that fluoresce different colors will be used, so that they can be distinguished for measurements.Diseases caused by persister bacteria are more difficult to cure because they are hard to kill, even with antibiotics that kill active individuals of the same strains. This research may suggest how hospital conditions and treatments affect the rapid evolution of bacterial persistence, even within a single patient. In addition, if persistence is in fact an example of individuals sacrificing their own success for the common good of their relatives, then this system can be used to study the evolution of cooperation, doing experiments in days that would take decades with multicellular organisms. This research will provide training opportunities for high school and undergraduate students.