Analyzing microbial disease at high resolution: following the fate of the bacterium during infection

The study of bacterial pathogens has historically been viewed with a wide lens, providing a picture of how bacterial populations act as groups, but with insufficient resolution to see how microorganisms act as individuals. For most bacterial pathogens, we do not know the minimal number of microbes that initiate infection in a particular organ site, the number that spread outside the site of initial colonization, and how many persist over time. Recent studies have begun to shed light on these points, and the development of new techniques has dramatically increased the ability of researchers to interrogate these problems. With new approaches, the field of bacterial pathogenesis is on the verge of understanding the role and fate of individual bacteria during infection.

► Counting bacterial number during infection provides poor resolution of bacterial fate. ► New methods, fluorescence dilution and barcoding, allow study of individual bacteria. ► Recent advances in understanding bacterial infection using these methods.