Project description:DNA gyrase is an essential enzyme whose activity is required for DNA replication and chromosome maintenance. Inhibition of gyrase results in multiple physiological effects including changes in DNA superhelicity, replication arrest and DNA damage. Using genetic, genomic, statistical and biochemical techniques, we have untangled the contribution of individual effects, assessed their relative significance and concluded that: i) DNA replication is required for the formation of spatial transcriptional domains; ii) transcriptional response to gyrase inhibition is coordinated between at least two modules involved in DNA maintenance, relaxation and damage response; iii) genes whose transcriptional response to gyrase inhibition does not depend on the activity of topoisomerase I can be classified on the basis of the GC excess in their upstream and coding sequences into, respectively, activated and repressed by gyrase inhibition; iv) relaxation by topoisomerase I dominates the transcriptional response upon gyrase inhibition, followed by the effects of replication and RecA. Keywords: time course
Project description:Cyadox(CYA), as a new species of Quinoxaline 1, 4-dioxides and olaquindox(OLA) both showed higher antibacterial activity under anaerobic incubation. Microarray was used for global gene expression studies, which were further confirmed by real-time PCR. Cyadox and olaquindox mainly stimulated the expression of DNA repair genes as a response to the DNA damage. The induced gene sbmC was found to provide partial protection against the antibiotics of gyrase inhibitors like the quinolones and the ruvAB helped remove the topoisomerase IV-DNA cleavage complex caused by some type IIA topoisomerase poison antibiotics. It was inferred that the radical intermediate of cyadox reduction under anaerobic condition was responsible for the poison effect of IIA topoisomerases, which brought about DNA double stand breaks and other DNA damages in E. coli.
Project description:Cyadox(CYA), as a new species of Quinoxaline 1, 4-dioxides and olaquindox(OLA) both showed higher antibacterial activity under anaerobic incubation. Microarray was used for global gene expression studies, which were further confirmed by real-time PCR. Cyadox and olaquindox mainly stimulated the expression of DNA repair genes as a response to the DNA damage. The induced gene sbmC was found to provide partial protection against the antibiotics of gyrase inhibitors like the quinolones and the ruvAB helped remove the topoisomerase IV-DNA cleavage complex caused by some type IIA topoisomerase poison antibiotics. It was inferred that the radical intermediate of cyadox reduction under anaerobic condition was responsible for the poison effect of IIA topoisomerases, which brought about DNA double stand breaks and other DNA damages in E. coli. We applied subinhibitory concentrations (concentrations that cause little growth inhibition) of two drus with the goal of observing antibiotic-specific primary expression profiles, and higher concentrations of drugs had been shown to cause a broader effect on cellular processes, thereby giving more complex response patterns and dose-specific effects could be examined.To the end, drugs were added to a final concentration of 0.5MIC(2) and MBC(3) for cyadox, and MIC(4) and MBC(5) for olaquindox, respectively. Control with 1% (vol/vol) DMSO(1) was grown in parallel.
Project description:Cold shock adaptability is a key survival skill of gut bacteria of warm-blooded animals. Escherichia coli cold shock responses are controlled by a complex multi-gene, timely-ordered transcriptional program. We investigated its underlying mechanisms. Having identified short-term, cold shock repressed genes, we show that their responsiveness is unrelated to their transcription factors or global regulators, while their single-cell protein numbers’ variability increases after cold shock. We hypothesized that some cold shock repressed genes could be triggered by high propensity for transcription locking due to changes in DNA supercoiling (likely due to DNA relaxation caused by an overall reduction in negative supercoiling). Concomitantly, we found that nearly half of cold shock repressed genes are also highly responsive to gyrase inhibition (albeit most genes responsive to gyrase inhibition are not cold shock responsive). Further, their response strengths to cold shock and gyrase inhibition correlate. Meanwhile, under cold shock, nucleoid density increases, and gyrases and nucleoid become more colocalized. Moreover, the cellular energy decreases, which may hinder positive supercoils resolution. Overall, we conclude that sensitivity to diminished negative supercoiling is a core feature of E. coli’s short-term, cold shock transcriptional program, and could be used to regulate the temperature sensitivity of synthetic circuits.
Project description:Various bis-benzimidazole derivatives have been reported to possess activity against Gram-positive pathogens. No mechanism of action has been elucidated to fully account for the antibacterial activity of this class of compounds. A group of symmetric bis-benzimidazoles (BBZ) designed as anticancer agents have previously been shown to possess moderate antiproliferative activity. We sought to assess the antibacterial activity and mechanism of action of BBZ compounds against Staphylococcus aureus. Antibacterial activities were assessed by determination of minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs), time-kill curves, and scanning electron microscopy. Transcriptional responses to BBZ treatment were determined using whole genome microarrays. Activities against bacterial type II topoisomerases were investigated using in vitro supercoiling, decatenation, DNA binding, and DNA cleavage inhibition assays. MICs for EMRSA-16 were between 0.03 and 0.5 μg/mL. The compounds showed concentration-dependent bactericidal activity and induced cell swelling and lysis. Transcriptional responses to BBZ were consistent with topoisomerase inhibition and DNA damage. A subset of BBZ compounds inhibited S. aureus DNA gyrase supercoiling activity with IC50 values in the range of 5−10 μM. This inhibition was subsequently shown to operate through both inhibition of binding of DNA gyrase to DNA and accumulation of single-stranded DNA breaks. We conclude that BBZ compounds are potent antistaphylococcal agents and operate at least in part through DNA gyrase inhibition, leading to the accumulation of single-stranded DNA breaks, and by preventing the binding of gyrase to DNA. [Data is also available from http://bugs.sgul.ac.uk/E-BUGS-106]
Project description:Counting DNA reads using whole genome sequencing is providing new insight into DNA double-strand break repair (DSBR) in the model organism Escherichia coli. We describe the application of RecA chromatin immunoprecipitation coupled to genomic DNA sequencing (RecA-ChIP-seq) and marker frequency analysis (MFA) to analyse the genomic consequences of DSBR.
Project description:Counting DNA reads using whole genome sequencing is providing new insight into DNA double-strand break repair (DSBR) in the model organism Escherichia coli. We describe the application of RecA chromatin immunoprecipitation coupled to genomic DNA sequencing (RecA-ChIP-seq) and marker frequency analysis (MFA) to analyse the genomic consequences of DSBR.
Project description:Analysis of topoisomerase function in bacterial replication fork movement: use of DNA microarrays. We used DNA microarrays of the Escherichia coli genome to trace the progression of chromosomal replication forks in synchronized cells. We found that both DNA gyrase and topoisomerase IV (topo IV) promote replication fork progression. When both enzymes were inhibited, the replication fork stopped rapidly. The elongation rate with topo IV alone was 1/3 of normal. Genetic data confirmed and extended these results. Inactivation of gyrase alone caused a slow stop of replication. Topo IV activity was sufficient to prevent accumulation of (+) supercoils in plasmid DNA in vivo, suggesting that topo IV can promote replication by removing (+) supercoils in front of the chromosomal fork. This study is detailed in Khodursky AB et al.(2000) Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 97:9419-24 Keywords: other
Project description:Persisters are rare phenotypic variants that can survive bactericidal doses of antibiotics and resume growth after the conclusion of treatment. They are suspected to be culprits of recurrent infections, and are distinct from resistant mutants because they are genetically identical to bacteria that die from treatment. Persisters to fluoroquinolones (FQs) experience DNA damage from treatment in stationary-phase culture, which suggests that FQs can corrupt their primary target, DNA gyrase, even in these super-tolerant cells. Since DNA damage from FQs originates from its stabilization of DNA gyrase in complexes with cleaved DNA, we hypothesized that the characteristics of FQ-stabilized DNA gyrase cleavage sites (GCS), such as the abundance, and/or location, might be influential to persistence. To test this hypothesis, we measured genome-wide distributions of GCS after treatment with a panel of FQs.We found drug-specific effects on the location and abundances of GCSs and discovered a negative correlation between the number of GCSs and FQ persister levels. Further, additional experiments and analyses suggested that persister levels are not governed by cleavage to a single specific site, but rather survival is a more complex function with respect to GCSs. Together, these findings demonstrate that there are drug specific differences in GCSs that correlate with persister levels, and suggest that the ability of an FQ to stabilize DNA-gyrase complexes at more sites will improve its bactericidal ability.