The extraordinary powers of bacteria visualized in real time

The global spread of antibiotic resistance is a major public health issue and a priority for international microbiology research. In a paper to be published in the journal Science, a team led by Christian Lesterlin, Inserm researcher at CNRS/Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 filmed the process of antibiotic resistance acquisition in real time, discovering an unexpected key player in its maintenance and spread within bacterial populations.