Silencing of antibiotic resistance in E. coli with engineered phage bearing small regulatory RNAs

ACS Synth Biol. 2014 Dec 19;3(12):1003-6. doi: 10.1021/sb500033d.

Abstract

In response to emergent antibiotic resistance, new strategies are needed to enhance the effectiveness of existing antibiotics. Here, we describe a phagemid-delivered, RNA-mediated system capable of directly knocking down antibiotic resistance phenotypes. Small regulatory RNAs (sRNAs) were designed to specifically inhibit translation of chloramphenicol acetyltransferase and kanamycin phosphotransferase. Nonlytic phagemids coding for sRNA expression were able to infect and restore chloramphenicol and kanamycin sensitivity to populations of otherwise resistant E. coli. This modular system could easily be extended to other bacteria with resistance profiles that depend on specific transcripts.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Bacteriophages / genetics*
  • Drug Resistance, Microbial / drug effects
  • Drug Resistance, Microbial / genetics*
  • Escherichia coli / drug effects
  • Escherichia coli / genetics*
  • Escherichia coli / metabolism
  • Gene Silencing*
  • Genetic Engineering
  • RNA, Viral* / genetics
  • RNA, Viral* / pharmacology

Substances

  • RNA, Viral