Protocol for assessing single-cell persister recovery kinetics and physiology in Escherichia coli using spectrophotometry

Bacterial persisters constitute a small fraction of cells that transiently display multidrug tolerance, allowing them to survive antibiotic treatment and to establish a new population upon recovery from the persistent state. Here, we present a protocol to quantify post-antibiotic persister recovery kinetics and physiological states at the single-cell level. We describe steps for sample preparation, technical setup, and data acquisition using spectrophotometry. Our assay allows for the elucidation of genes and mechanisms involved in persister survival. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Wilmaerts et al.