Effects of antibiotics on bacterial cell morphology and their physiological origins.

Characterizing the physiological response of bacterial cells to antibiotic treatment is crucial for the design of antibacterial therapies and for understanding the mechanisms of antibiotic resistance. While the effects of antibiotics are commonly characterized by their minimum inhibitory concentrations or the minimum bactericidal concentrations, the effects of antibiotics on cell morphology and physiology are less well characterized. Recent technological advances in single-cell studies of bacterial physiology have revealed how different antibiotic drugs affect the physiological state of the cell, including growth rate, cell size and shape, and macromolecular composition.