Phase-plastic aggresomes as tunable regulators of bacterial dormancy depth.

Phase-plastic aggresomes act as tunable regulators of bacterial dormancy depth, with their material state influencing recovery kinetics and persistence.

• Why it matters: Bacterial persistence complicates treatment of chronic and biofilm infections by allowing bacteria to survive antibiotics without genetic resistance, highlighting a critical need for new therapeutic strategies.
• What they did: The review synthesizes recent findings on aggresomes formed via liquid-liquid phase separation, showing their composition and physical state evolve from liquid-like to gel-like, affecting dormancy and resuscitation.
• The result: Understanding aggresome plasticity offers potential for therapies that manipulate these condensates, providing new avenues to combat bacterial persistence and improve infection outcomes.