RESUMO
BACKGROUND: The marR gene of Escherichia coli encodes a repressor of the marRAB operon, a regulatory locus controlling multiple antibiotic resistance in this organism. Inactivation of marR results in increased expression of marA, which acts at several target genes in the cell leading to reduced antibiotic accumulation. Exposure of E. coli to sodium salicylate (SAL) induces marRAB operon transcription and antibiotic resistance. The mechanism by which SAL antagonizes MarR repressor activity is unclear. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Recombinant plasmid libraries were introduced into a reporter strain designed to identify cloned genes encoding MarR repressor activity. Computer analysis of sequence databases was also used to search for proteins related to MarR. RESULTS: A second E. coli gene, MprA, that exhibits MarR repressor activity was identified. Subsequent database searching revealed a family of 10 proteins from a variety of bacteria that share significant amino acid sequence similarity to MarR and MprA. At least four of these proteins are transcriptional repressors whose activity is antagonized by SAL or by phenolic agents structurally related to SAL. CONCLUSIONS: The MarR family is identified as a group of regulatory factors whose activity is modulated in response to environmental signals in the form of phenolic compounds. Many of these agents are plant derived. Some of the MarR homologs appear more likely to control systems expressed in animal hosts, suggesting that phenolic sensing by bacteria is important in a variety of environments and in the regulation of numerous processes.
Assuntos
Proteínas de Bactérias/genética , Resistência Microbiana a Medicamentos/genética , Resistência a Múltiplos Medicamentos/genética , Proteínas de Escherichia coli , Escherichia coli/genética , Óperon/genética , Fenóis/metabolismo , Proteínas Repressoras/genética , Sequência de Aminoácidos , Proteínas de Bactérias/metabolismo , Sequência de Bases , Escherichia coli/metabolismo , Regulação Bacteriana da Expressão Gênica , Biblioteca Gênica , Dados de Sequência Molecular , Proteínas Repressoras/metabolismo , Alinhamento de SequênciaRESUMO
A series of novel genetic constructs derived from the marRAB operon was used to determine the role of this gene cluster in salicylate-inducible multiple-antibiotic resistance in Escherichia coli. Our findings indicate that regulated antibiotic resistance associated with this locus requires only the products of marR and marA, without any neighboring genes.
Assuntos
Proteínas de Bactérias/genética , Proteínas de Ligação a DNA , Resistência a Múltiplos Medicamentos/genética , Proteínas de Escherichia coli , Escherichia coli/genética , Regulação Bacteriana da Expressão Gênica , Proteínas Repressoras/genética , Resistência Microbiana a Medicamentos , Escherichia coli/efeitos dos fármacos , Mutagênese , Óperon/genéticaRESUMO
Multiple antibiotic resistance in Escherichia coli has typically been associated with mutations at the mar locus, located at 34 min on the E. coli chromosome. A new mutant, marC, isolated on the basis of a Mar phenotype but which maps to the soxRS (encoding the regulators of the superoxide stress response) locus located at 92 min, is described here. This mutant shares several features with a known constitutive allele of the soxRS gene, prompting the conclusion that it is a highly active allele of this gene. The marC mutation has thus been given the designation soxR201. This new mutant was used to examine the relationship between the mar and sox loci in promoting antibiotic resistance. The results of these studies indicate that full antibiotic resistance resulting from the soxR201 mutation is partially dependent on an intact mar locus and is associated with an increase in the steady-state level of mar-specific mRNA. In addition, paraquat treatment of wild-type cells is shown to increase the level of antibiotic resistance in a dose-dependent manner that requires an intact soxRS locus. Conversely, overexpression of MarA from a multicopy plasmid results in weak activation of a superoxide stress response target gene. These findings are consistent with a model in which the regulatory factors encoded by the marA and soxS genes control the expression of overlapping sets of target genes, with MarA preferentially acting on targets involved with antibiotic resistance and SoxS directed primarily towards components of the superoxide stress response. Furthermore, compounds frequently used to induce the superoxide stress response, including paraquat, menadione, and phenazine methosulfate, differ with respect to the amount of protection provided against them by the antibiotic resistance response.
