Fig. 5: Dynamics of subpopulations in competition assays under drug switching. | Nature Communications

Fig. 5: Dynamics of subpopulations in competition assays under drug switching.

From: Heterogeneous multicopy of blaCTX-M variants on the same plasmid enhances evolutionary adaptability in clinical Klebsiella pneumoniae

Fig. 5: Dynamics of subpopulations in competition assays under drug switching.

a Schematic of competition outcome. A 1:1 co-culture was initiated with H1P-B (additional blue fluorescent) and H2P. During competition under alternating drug pressure, segregational loss of one plasmid gave rise to single-plasmid derivatives: 65G (retaining p65G only) and 249R (retaining p249R only). Created in BioRender. Wu, X. (2026) https://BioRender.com/auf14hj. b H1P-B and H2P strains were mixed 1:1, cocultured, and serially passaged. After 4 days of increasing CTX exposure, the drug was switched to CZA on day 5. Flow cytometry tracked H1P-B, H2P, and derivative subpopulations (65G or 249R) arising from loss of one of the two plasmids in H2P. Mean values of three biological independent replicates are shown (n = 3). c The same setup with 4 days of increasing CZA followed by a switch to CTX on day 5. Flow cytometry quantified the proportions of H1P-B, H2P, and derivative subpopulations 65G and 249R. Mean values of three biological independent replicates are shown (n = 3). CTX cefotaxime, CZA ceftazidime/avibactam, H1P heterogeneity in one plasmid, H2P heterogeneity in two plasmids. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.

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