[Research progress of VBNC bacteria--a review].

The viable but non-culturable (VBNC) is a microbial state, in which microbial cells are metabolically active but cannot be cultivated by routine methods. In this article, we address the formation mechanism, change and variety, resuscitation, research significance and application prospects of VBNC state in bacteria. Furthermore, we report our research findings on VBNC state of bacteria in the past 10 years, including resuscitation, culturable, phylogenetic relationship and potential functions.