The formation of persister cells is one mechanism by which bacteria can survive exposure to environmental stresses. We show that Campylobacter jejuni 11168H forms persister cells at a frequency of 10⁻³ after exposure to 100 × MIC of penicillin G for 24 h. Staining the cell population with a redox sensitive fluorescent dye revealed that penicillin G treatment resulted in the appearance of a population of cells with increased fluorescence. We present evidence, to show this could be a consequence of increased redox protein activity in, or associated with, the electron transport chain. These data suggest that a population of penicillin G treated C. jejuni cells could undergo a remodeling of the electron transport chain in order to moderate membrane hyperpolarization and intracellular alkalization; thus reducing the antibiotic efficacy and potentially assisting in persister cell formation.

持久性细胞的形成是细菌在环境压力下生存下来的一种机制。我们证明空肠弯曲菌11168H暴露于100×MIC青霉素G 24 h后，以10 ^-3的频率形成持久性细胞。用氧化还原敏感的荧光染料染色细胞群体表明，青霉素G处理导致出现了荧光增强的细胞群体。我们提供的证据表明，这可能是由于电子传输链中氧化还原蛋白活性增加或与之相关的结果。这些数据表明接受青霉素G治疗的人群空肠弯曲菌细胞可能会经历电子传输链的重塑，以缓和膜超极化和细胞内碱化；因此降低了抗生素的功效，并潜在地协助了持久性细胞的形成。