Antibiotic pressure can induce the viable but non-culturable state in Staphylococcus aureus growing in biofilms

Abstract

Our findings demonstrate that S. aureus can enter the VBNC state in infectious biofilms. The presence of vancomycin or quinupristin/dalfopristin can inadvertently induce a true VBNC state or its persistence in S. aureus cells embedded in biofilms, supporting previous findings on the role of staphylococcal biofilms in recurrent infections.