The study of the dynamics that occur during the course of a bacterial infection has been attempted using several methods. Here we discuss the construction of a set of antibiotic-resistant, otherwise-isogenic Staphylococcus aureus strains that can be used to observe the progress of systemic disease in a mouse model at various time-points postinfection. The strains can likewise be used to study the progression of infection in other animal infection models, such as the zebrafish embryo. Furthermore, the use of antibiotic resistance tags provides a convenient system with which to investigate the effect of antimicrobial chemotherapy during disease.
Keywords: Animal model; Dynamics; Infection; Isogenic; Mutant.