Fig. 7: Cytoplasmic condensation and antibiotic killing are robust to changes in oxygen availability and external osmolarity.

a Phase-contrast and fluorescence microscopy images of control and antibiotic-treated E. coli (10× MIC) taken 3 h after treatment. Cells were grown, treated, and imaged under anaerobic conditions in LB medium. Scale bar, 3 μm. b Survival curves of E. coli under anaerobic kanamycin and ciprofloxacin treatment, as determined by CFU plating and counting. Each point represents two biological replicates, error bars indicate one standard deviation, and data are presented as mean ± SEM. Positive values indicate increases in CFU/mL. Arrows highlight protection. All MICs used were with respect to their baseline values under aerobic conditions (Supplementary Table 1). c, d Same as (a, b), but for aerobic cell cultures that are hypoosmotically shocked by downshifting from 250 mM sorbitol after ~3 h of antibiotic treatment (c) and at plating (d). Yellow and red markers highlight condensed and lysed cells, respectively.