Plasticity of transcriptional regulation under antibiotic stress

Evolution of antibiotic resistance in microbes is frequently achieved by acquisition of spontaneous mutations during antimicrobial therapy. Here we demonstrate that inactivation of a central regulator of iron homeostasis (fur) facilitates laboratory evolution of ciprofloxacin resistance in Escherichia coli. To decipher the underlying molecular mechanisms, we first performed a global transcriptome analysis and demonstrated a substantial reorganization of the Fur regulon in response to antibiotic treatment. We hypothesized that the impact of Fur on evolvability under antibiotic pressure is due to the elevated intracellular concentration of free iron and the consequent enhancement of oxidative damage-induced mutagenesis. In agreement with expectations, over-expression of iron storage proteins, inhibition of iron transport, or anaerobic conditions drastically suppressed the evolution of resistance, while inhibition of the SOS response-mediated mutagenesis had no such effect in fur deficient population. In sum, our work revealed the central role of iron metabolism in de novo evolution of antibiotic resistance, a pattern that could influence the development of novel antimicrobial strategies.

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Méhi O, Bogos B, Csörgő B, Pál F, Nyerges A, Papp B, Pál C