https://www.selleckchem.com/products/k03861.html Overall, our findings reveal how inter-species interactions partitioned in space and time lead to stable coexistence.Biofilms are microbial communities that represent a highly abundant form of microbial life on Earth. Inside biofilms, phenotypic and genotypic variations occur in three-dimensional space and time; microscopy and quantitative image analysis are therefore crucial for elucidating their functions. Here, we present BiofilmQ-a comprehensive image cytometry software tool for the automated and high-throughput quantification, analysis and visualization of numerous biofilm-internal and whole-biofilm properties in three-dimensional space and time.Persister cells are a subpopulation of transiently antibiotic-tolerant bacteria associated with chronic infection and antibiotic treatment failure. Toxin-antitoxin systems have been linked to persister cell formation but the molecular mechanisms leading to bacterial persistence are mostly unknown. Here, we show that SprF1, a type I antitoxin, associates with translating ribosomes from the major human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus to reduce the pathogen's overall protein synthesis during growth. Under hyperosmotic stress, SprF1 levels increase due to enhanced stability, accumulate on polysomes and attenuate protein synthesis. Using an internal 6-nucleotide sequence on its 5'-end, SprF1 binds ribosomes and interferes with initiator transfer RNA binding, thus reducing translation initiation. An excess of messenger RNA displaces the ribosome-bound antitoxin, freeing the ribosomes for new translation cycles; however, this RNA antitoxin can also displace ribosome-bound mRNA. This translation attenuation mechanism, mediated by an RNA antitoxin, promotes antibiotic persister cell formation. The untranslated SprF1 is a dual-function RNA antitoxin that represses toxin expression by its 3'-end and fine-tunes overall bacterial translation via its 5'-end. These findings demonstrate a