Quantifying the effects of antibiotic resistance and within-host competition on strain fitness in Streptococcus pneumoniae
- Author(s)
- Krishna, A; Tonkin-Hill, G; Morel-Journel, T; Bentley, S; Turner, P; Blanquart, F; Lehtinen, S;
- Details
- Publication Year 2025-08,Volume 23,Issue #8,Page e3003300
- Journal Title
- PLoS Biology
- Publication Type
- Research article
- Abstract
- Competition plays a key role in shaping the structure and diversity of bacterial populations. In many clinically important bacterial species, strains compete at multiple scales: at the between-host scale for new hosts to colonise, and at the within-host scale during co-colonisation. Characterising these multiple facets of competition plays an important role in understanding bacterial ecology. This is particularly relevant for antibiotic resistance, where competition between antibiotic-susceptible and resistant strains determines resistance dynamics. In this work, we perform survival analyses on a large longitudinal dataset of Streptococcus pneumoniae carriage to quantify how within-host competition affects the rates of clearance and establishment of pneumococcal strains. We find that the presence of a within-host competitor is associated with a 33% increase in clearance and a 54% reduction in establishment. Priority effects and serotype differences partially predict the outcomes of this within-host competition. Further, we quantify the effects of antibiotic resistance on between- and within-host components of fitness. Antibiotic consumption is associated with increased clearance rate for both susceptible and resistant strains, albeit to a higher extent in susceptible strains. In the absence of antibiotics, we find some evidence that resistance is associated with increased susceptibility to within-host competition, suggesting a fitness cost of resistance. Overall, our work provides quantitative insights into pneumococcal competition across scales and the role of this competition in shaping pneumococcal epidemiology.
- Publisher
- PLOS
- Keywords
- *Streptococcus pneumoniae/drug effects/physiology/genetics; Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology; *Pneumococcal Infections/microbiology/drug therapy; Humans; *Drug Resistance, Bacterial; *Genetic Fitness; Host-Pathogen Interactions
- Department(s)
- Laboratory Research
- Publisher's Version
- https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3003300
- Open Access at Publisher's Site
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3003300- Terms of Use/Rights Notice
- Refer to copyright notice on published article.
Creation Date: 2025-09-09 04:09:11
Last Modified: 2025-09-09 04:09:23