Stress Response and Natural Transformation in Vibrio cholerae

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance is a major threat facing modern medicine, which is accelerated by various forms of horizontal gene transfer (HGT). A contributing problem is that antibiotics themselves, especially those inducing DNA damage and the SOS response, can actually increase the rates of transfer of resistance genes through conjugation and transduction. Evidence from other species indicates that DNA‐damaging stress may also have effects on natural transformation, a form of HGT in which extracellular DNA is promiscuously taken up and recombined into the genome and which may contribute to the spread of resistance genes. We are studying the effects of DNA‐damaging stress in Vibrio cholerae, an important human pathogen capable of both natural transformation and the SOS response. Here, we demonstrate that genotoxic agents can alter the rates of natural transformation in V. cholerae and explore the mechanisms by which these changes occur.Support or Funding Information“Monitoring the Impact of Climate Change Stressors on Horizontal Gene Transfer in Marine Microbial Populations.” 2016. Rhode Island Research Alliance Collaborative Research Grant, Rhode Island Science and Technology Advisory Council (STAC).Brown University Presidential Fellowship