Transcriptomic response of Enterococcus faecalis V583 to low hydrogen peroxide levels

Curr Microbiol. 2015 Feb;70(2):156-68. doi: 10.1007/s00284-014-0691-8. Epub 2014 Sep 23.

Abstract

Enterococcus faecalis is a Gram-positive commensal bacterium inhabiting the gastrointestinal tracts of human and other mammals, but is also increasingly recognized as an opportunistic human pathogen. Oxidative stress is one of the major challenges encountered by enterococci, both in their natural environment and during infection. In this paper, we evaluated the transcriptomic response of E. faecalis to oxidative stress, and showed that transcript abundance was reduced for 93 genes and increased for 39 genes during growth in medium containing 1.75 mM H2O2. The presence of hydrogen peroxide affected several metabolic pathways, including a large decrease in ethanolamine utilization and methylglyoxal metabolism, and an increase in transcript abundance for several transport systems. In particular, four operons encoding iron transporters appeared highly induced. By contrast, in our experimental conditions, the expression of most of the genes known to be involved in the enterococcal response to oxidative stress, did not appear significantly altered.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adaptation, Biological / genetics
  • Biological Transport
  • Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
  • Enterococcus faecalis / drug effects*
  • Enterococcus faecalis / genetics*
  • Enterococcus faecalis / metabolism
  • Ethanolamine / metabolism
  • Gene Expression Profiling
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial / drug effects*
  • Gene Regulatory Networks
  • Humans
  • Hydrogen Peroxide / pharmacology*
  • Molecular Sequence Annotation
  • Oxidative Stress / drug effects
  • Oxidative Stress / genetics
  • Pyruvaldehyde / metabolism
  • Transcriptome*

Substances

  • Ethanolamine
  • Pyruvaldehyde
  • Hydrogen Peroxide