Phenotypic Plasticity as a Strategy of Bacterial Resistance and an Object of Advanced Antimicrobial Technologies (Review)

Adaptation to continuously changing habitat is one of the most important characteristics of microorganisms. A particularly effective form of adaptation is called phenotypic plasticity. This ability allows bacteria with a stable genotype to create different phenotypes in response to environmental changes. Such variability is not inheritable but is crucial for maintaining this specific bacterial population and, even more, for developing resistance to antibiotics. Studying the phenotypic plasticity, which underlies the resistance of microorganisms to traditional antibiotic therapy, is a key area of the current antimicrobial technologies. In this review, phenotypic plasticity is considered to be a strategy of bacterial survival and a mechanism for developing antibiotic resistance in dormant (resistant) cellular forms of bacteria. We suggest that studying the phenotypic variants of bacteria (L-forms; viable but nonculturable bacteria; persister cells) will result in the development of novel effective antimicrobial technologies.

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