Bacterial metabolic state more accurately predicts antibiotic lethality than growth rate

Growth rate and metabolic state of bacteria have been separately shown to affect antibiotic efficacy1–3. However, the two are interrelated as bacterial growth inherently imposes a metabolic burden4; thus, determining individual contributions from each is challenging5,6. Indeed, faster growth is often correlated with increased antibiotic efficacy7,8; however, the concurrent role of metabolism in that relationship has not been well characterized. …