An analogous wood barrel theory to explain the occurrence of hormesis: A case study of sulfonamides and erythromycin on Escherichia coli growth

Hormesis has aroused much attention during the past two decades and may have great implications on many fields, including toxicology and risk assessment. However, the observation of hormesis remains challenged under laboratory conditions. To determine favorable conditions under which to observe hormesis, we investigated the hormetic responses of Escherichia coli (E. coli) upon exposure of different concentrations of sulfonamides and erythromycin at different time points and in different culture media: Luria-Bertani (LB) broth and Mueller Hinton (MH) broth. Our results reveal that the antibiotics, both individually and combined, produce hormetic effects on E. coli growth in MH broth at the stationary phase, with the maximum stimulatory response increasing with time. However, in LB broth, the hormetic response was not observed, which can be explained by an analogous “wood barrel theory”. Our study suggests that the culture medium and time should be taken into consideration in hormetic studies, and compound mixtures should also receive more attention for their potential to induce hormesis.