Extracellular vesicle-mediated communication in bacterial survival under antibiotic stress

Presented by Julia BOS (Institut Pasteur, Paris)

Invited by Zeynep BAHAROGLU

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are nanosized membrane-bound particles released by bacteria that carry diverse biomolecules and support multiple functions, including cell-to-cell communication and stress adaptation. Once considered passive byproducts of membrane plasticity, EVs are now emerging as important players in bacterial physiology, although their dynamics and functions in living populations remain poorly understood due to the difficulty of studying such small structures. Using complementary single-cell approaches in Escherichia coli, we were able to visualize EV-mediated communication during antibiotic stress, such as trafficking and uptake dynamics. I will discuss the role of EV production and trafficking during sublethal antibiotic exposure and how these processes promote tolerance, before examining the effects of heterogeneous EV uptake and membrane composition on bacterial survival and EV-mediated protection.