Assessment of Phenotype Microarray plates for rapid and high-throughput analysis of collateral sensitivity networks

PLoS One. 2019 Dec 18;14(12):e0219879. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0219879. eCollection 2019.

Abstract

The crisis of antimicrobial resistance is driving research into the phenomenon of collateral sensitivity. Sometimes, when a bacterium evolves resistance to one antimicrobial, it becomes sensitive to others. In this study, we have investigated the utility of Phenotype Microarray (PM) plates for identifying collateral sensitivities with unprecedented throughput. We assessed the relative resistance/sensitivity phenotypes of nine strains of Staphylococcus aureus (two laboratory strains and seven clinical isolates) towards the 72 antimicrobials contained in three PM plates. In general, the PM plates reported on resistance and sensitivity with a high degree of reproducibility. However, a rigorous comparison of PM growth phenotypes with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) measurements revealed a trade-off between throughput and accuracy. Small differences in PM growth phenotype did not necessarily correlate with changes in MIC. Thus, we conclude that PM plates are useful for the rapid and high-throughput assessment of large changes in collateral sensitivity phenotypes during the evolution of antimicrobial resistance, but more subtle examples of cross-resistance or collateral sensitivity cannot be identified reliably using this approach.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adaptation, Physiological / drug effects*
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology*
  • Drug Collateral Sensitivity / drug effects*
  • Humans
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • Phenotype
  • Staphylococcal Infections / drug therapy*
  • Staphylococcal Infections / microbiology
  • Staphylococcus aureus / drug effects*
  • Staphylococcus aureus / growth & development*
  • Staphylococcus aureus / isolation & purification

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents

Grants and funding

WMP received financial support for this research via seed grants from the Otago Medical Research Foundation (www.omrf.org.nz), the Maurice and Phyllis Paykel Trust (www.paykeltrust.co.nz) and the Wellington Medical Research Foundation (researchforlife.org.nz). The funders had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.