B. R. Levin

The Tradeoffs Between Persistence and Mutation Rates at Sub-Inhibitory Antibiotic Concentrations in Staphylococcus aureus

This study examines how sub-inhibitory antibiotic concentrations affect mutation rates and persistence in Staphylococcus aureus, showing increased mutation rates and reduced persistence.

Enteric Populations of Escherichia coli are Likely to be Resistant to Phages Due to O-Antigen Expression

The paper investigates phage resistance in E. coli due to O-antigen expression and finds that most E. coli in the gut are resistant, limiting phage impact on bacterial composition.

The Evolution of Heteroresistance via Small Colony Variants in Escherichia coli Following Long Term Exposure to Bacteriostatic Antibiotics

This study shows that long-term exposure to bacteriostatic antibiotics in E. coli leads to the emergence of small colony variants (SCVs) that confer heteroresistance, which reverts upon antibiotic removal.

The contribution of abortive infection to preventing populations of Lactococcus lactis from succumbing to infections with bacteriophage

This study investigates how abortive infection (Abi) in Lactococcus lactis limits phage proliferation and prevents population extinction, showing Abi is effective but not sufficient for complete protection.

What's the matter with MICs: The contribution of nutrients and limiting resources to the pharmacodynamics of antibiotics and bacteria

This study investigates how nutrient conditions affect antibiotic pharmacodynamics by comparing MICs and bacterial growth in rich and minimal media with E. coli and eight antibiotics.

What the book of Lambda doesnt tell us about temperate phages and lysogeny in the real world

The paper uses a mathematical model and experiments to show that lysogenic bacteria are resistant and immune to their own temperate phage, confirmed by testing natural Escherichia coli isolates.

The ecological consequences and evolution of retron-mediated suicide as a way to protect Escherichia coli from being killed by phage

The paper models and experiments show retron-mediated abortive infection protects E. coli from phage but only under specific conditions.

Mucoidy, a general mechanism for maintaining lytic phage in populations of bacteria

The paper shows that mucoidy in E. coli allows lytic phages to persist in bacterial populations through frequent transitions between mucoid and non-mucoid states.

Joint antibiotic and phage therapy: addressing the limitations of a seemingly ideal phage for treating Staphylococcus aureus infections

This study evaluates the effectiveness of the phage PYOSa for treating Staphylococcus aureus infections, finding that while it has desirable traits, it fails to eliminate bacterial populations due to small colony variants, which can be mitigated by combining it with bactericidal antibiotics.

How important is CRISPR-Cas for protecting natural populations of bacteria against infections by mobile genetic elements??

This paper explores the ecological and evolutionary role of CRISPR-Cas systems in bacteria and archaea using simulation models and literature review.

Human antimicrobial peptide, LL-37, induces non-inheritable reduced susceptibility to vancomycin in Staphylococcus aureus

This study shows that LL-37 increases vancomycin resistance in S. aureus, potentially affecting treatment outcomes in vivo.

The population and evolutionary dynamics of bacteriophage: Why be temperate revisited

This study uses a mathematical model and experimental tests to determine the evolutionary conditions favoring lytic or temperate phage replication modes in bacterial populations.

Promises and pitfalls of in vivo evolution to improve phage therapy

This study evaluates whether in vivo phage evolution can improve phage therapy outcomes and finds that informed phage selection is more effective than relying on within-host evolution.

Antibiotic killing of diversely generated populations of non-replicating bacteria

This study investigates antibiotic killing of three types of non-replicating bacterial populations and finds they are consistently killed by aminoglycosides and peptide antibiotics.

Why Put-Up with Immunity when there is Resistance: An Excursion into the Population and Evolutionary Dynamics of Restriction-Modification and CRISPR-Cas

This study uses mathematical models and simulations to analyze when bacteria's immune systems (RM and CRISPR-Cas) are favored over envelope resistance against phage infections.

Immune Loss as a Driver of Coexistence During Host-Phage Coevolution

The paper shows that immune loss in bacteria can lead to stable coexistence with phages, contrasting with fitness tradeoffs, through theoretical and experimental analysis of CRISPR-Cas systems.