Revealing the BActerial Response to Temperature and Antibiotics Stress via multiscale imaging

Informations projet

BARTAS

N° de convention de subvention: 101063725

DOI

10.3030/101063725

Projet clôturé

Date de signature de la CE 11 Juillet 2022

Date de début 1 Octobre 2022

Date de fin 30 Septembre 2024

Financé au titre de

• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)

Coût total

Aucune donnée

Contribution de l’UE

€ 211 754,88

Coordonné par

ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE
France

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - BARTAS (Revealing the BActerial Response to Temperature and Antibiotics Stress via multiscale imaging)

Période du rapport: 2022-10-01 au 2024-09-30

Résumé du contexte et des objectifs généraux du projet

Bacteria are highly adaptable organisms capable of surviving challenging environmental conditions, including temperature changes, acidity, exposure to harmful substances, DNA damage, and nutrient shortages. This adaptability makes bacterial infections difficult to treat and contributes to the growing crisis of antibiotic resistance. Currently, antibiotic resistance causes 700,000 deaths annually, a number projected to rise to 10 million by 2050 without urgent intervention. The BARTAS project (Revealing the Bacterial Response to Temperature and Antibiotics Stress via Multiscale Imaging) investigated how bacteria respond to the combined stresses of heat and antibiotics at the single-cell level, using advanced imaging technologies to uncover new insights into their survival mechanisms.
When the body fights an infection, it often raises its temperature, causing a fever. This heat puts bacteria under stress, forcing them to adapt quickly to survive and grow. If they fail to adapt, the heat could disrupt essential functions such as maintaining cell walls, producing proteins, and preserving DNA. In addition to heat, antibiotics challenge bacteria by targeting critical survival mechanisms. However, the interaction between heat stress and antibiotic effectiveness remains poorly understood. BARTAS addressed this knowledge gap by combining microfluidic and microscopy techniques to explore bacterial survival mechanisms under these stresses.

Travail effectué depuis le début du projet jusqu’à la fin de la période considérée dans le rapport et principaux résultats atteints jusqu’à présent

BARTAS developed a microfluidic platform that precisely controls environmental conditions, such as temperature and antibiotic concentrations, around individual bacterial cells. This innovative platform enabled researchers to observe how bacteria respond to rapid temperature increases and to measure bacterial stress levels over time. By manipulating these conditions, the project observed bacterial adaptation in real time under both heat and antibiotic stress.
Using advanced imaging techniques, BARTAS explored how heat stress disrupts essential processes like protein synthesis and bacterial metabolism. The research revealed how heat alters bacterial protein production, shedding light on how these changes could influence bacterial susceptibility to antibiotics.
The project further analyzed how different antibiotics affect bacterial metabolism, particularly when combined with heat stress. It identified potential synergies or conflicts between bacterial stress responses and antibiotic efficacy, offering insights into strategies to optimize antibiotic treatments. These findings hold significant potential to improve current therapies and develop new approaches to fight antibiotic-resistant infections.
BARTAS provided critical insights into bacterial survival mechanisms under heat and antibiotic stress. Its results offer potential solutions for more effective antibiotic use and could serve as a foundation for improving treatments for bacterial infections.

Progrès au-delà de l’état des connaissances et impact potentiel prévu (y compris l’impact socio-économique et les conséquences sociétales plus larges du projet jusqu’à présent)

BARTAS enabled the quantification of bacterial stress responses with a level of detail that surpasses traditional population-level studies. The project developed a microfluidic platform to study bacterial behavior under precisely controlled conditions, allowing researchers to observe bacterial adaptation to heat in real-time. Using advanced microscopy techniques, the project also investigated how different antibiotic concentrations affect bacterial metabolism.
These findings have the potential to inform clinical strategies, such as timing antibiotic administration to coincide with bacterial vulnerabilities under heat stress. By uncovering novel molecular pathways, BARTAS opens up opportunities to develop new therapeutic approaches to combat antibiotic resistance. Beyond its scientific contributions, the project supports global public health efforts by providing critical insights that could reduce antibiotic-resistant infections and improve patient outcomes.

BARTAS project schematic description