Allele-specific collateral and fitness effects determine the dynamics of fluoroquinolone resistance evolution

Collateral sensitivity (CS), which arises when resistance to one antibiotic increases sensitivity toward other antibiotics, offers treatment opportunities to constrain or reverse the evolution of antibiotic resistance. The applicability of CS-informed treatments remains uncertain, in part because we lack an understanding of the generality of CS effects for different resistance mutations, singly or in combination. Here, we address this issue in the gram-positive pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae by measuring collateral and fitness effects of clinically relevant gyrA and parC alleles and their combinations that confer resistance to fluoroquinolones. We integrated these results in a mathematical model that allowed us to evaluate how different in silico combination treatments impact the dynamics of resistance evolution. We identified common and conserved CS effects of different gyrA and parC alleles; however, the spectrum of collateral effects was unique for each allele or allelic pair. This indicated that allelic identity can impact the evolutionary dynamics of resistance evolution during monotreatment and combination treatment. Our model simulations, which included the experimentally derived antibiotic susceptibilities and fitness effects, and antibiotic-specific pharmacodynamics revealed that both collateral and fitness effects impact the population dynamics of resistance evolution. Overall, we provide evidence that allelic identity and interactions can have a pronounced impact on collateral effects to different antibiotics and suggest that these need to be considered in models examining CS-based therapies.

Automated summary

Collateral sensitivity (CS) is a phenomenon where resistance to one antibiotic increases sensitivity to other antibiotics, providing treatment opportunities to combat antibiotic resistance. This study investigates the generality of CS effects for different resistance mutations in Streptococcus pneumoniae, a gram-positive pathogen. By measuring the collateral and fitness effects of relevant resistance alleles, the researchers identify common CS effects, but also unique effects for each allele or allelic pair. Mathematical modeling demonstrates that both collateral and fitness effects impact the population dynamics of resistance evolution. The findings highlight the importance of considering allelic identity and interactions in CS-based therapies.