High-throughput identification of the sensitivities of an Escherichia coli ΔrecA mutant strain to various chemical compounds

J Antibiot (Tokyo). 2019 Jul;72(7):566-573. doi: 10.1038/s41429-019-0160-5. Epub 2019 Feb 21.

Abstract

Antibiotic resistance is considered a global threat to public health. Adaptive resistance mutations and the acquisition of resistance genes by horizontal gene transfer are known to be facilitated by the RecA-dependent SOS response during antibiotic treatment, making RecA inhibitors promising agents for the prevention of antibiotic resistance. However, the impact of RecA inactivation on antibiotic sensitivities remains unclear. Therefore, in this study, we performed high-throughput screening to determine the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of 217 chemicals, including both antibiotics and toxic chemicals of unknown drug action, in the wild-type MDS42 and the ΔrecA mutant strains of Escherichia coli. The ΔrecA mutant showed increased sensitivity to DNA-damaging agents, DNA replication inhibitors, and chromate stress, as well as to other chemicals, such as S-(2-aminoethyl)-L-cysteine, L-histidine, ruthenium red, D-penicillamine, carbonyl cyanide 3-chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP), cerulenin, and L-cysteine. Microarray analysis showed further that the ΔrecA mutant had lower expressions of glnK, nac, and glnLG, which encode nitrogen assimilation regulators, as well as amtB, which encodes an ammonium transporter, compared with the wild type. These findings suggest that the ΔrecA mutation affects not only the SOS response but also amino acid metabolism.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology*
  • Chromates / toxicity
  • DNA Damage
  • DNA Replication / drug effects
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / drug effects*
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / genetics*
  • Escherichia coli / drug effects*
  • Escherichia coli / genetics*
  • Escherichia coli Proteins / drug effects*
  • Escherichia coli Proteins / genetics*
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial / drug effects
  • Microarray Analysis
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests / methods*
  • Mutation
  • RNA, Bacterial / genetics
  • Rec A Recombinases / drug effects*
  • Rec A Recombinases / genetics*
  • SOS Response, Genetics / drug effects*

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Chromates
  • DNA-Binding Proteins
  • Escherichia coli Proteins
  • RNA, Bacterial
  • recA protein, E coli
  • Rec A Recombinases