Definition:

See also fitness costs of drug-resistance.

A measure of bacterial relative reproductive success.

Bacterial fitness is the ability to adapt metabolism to survive and grow in different environments i.e., in vitro or in vivo. It is measured using several methods, including maximal growth rate (Vmax) of a culture growing on its own. Organisms requiring higher MICs to inhibit their growth in an antibiotic environment are deemed fit.

 

Video definition by Diarmaid Hughes, Uppsala University (Sweden)

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