Strong Environment-Genotype Interactions Determine the Fitness Costs of Antibiotic Resistance In Vitro and in an Insect Model of Infection

Abstract

The acquisition of antibiotic resistance commonly imposes fitness costs, a reduction in the fitness of bacteria in the absence of drugs. These costs have been quantified primarily using in vitro experiments and a small number of in vivo studies in mice, and it is commonly assumed that these diverse methods are consistent. Here, we used an insect model of infection to compare the fitness costs of antibiotic resistance in vivo to those in vitro .