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Cells that can survive doses of antibiotics and lie resting in a dormant state may hold a key to understanding antibiotic resistance, researchers say.

A study found the vast majority of the 1.3 per cent of bacteria cells that survived treatment with the antibiotic ampicillin were live but not growing.

These cells have been dubbed “sleeper cells” as they look dormant and resemble cells that have been killed by antibiotics. They cannot be detected by standard methods as they are non-growing, and are potentially dangerous as they can “wake up” then re-infect humans or animals.

Researchers at the University of Exeter used a miniaturised device to study single bacteria over time.