A nucleoid-associated protein is involved in the emergence of antibiotic resistance by promoting the frequent exchange of the replicative DNA polymerase in Mycobacterium smegmatis.

ABSTRACT: Antibiotic resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis exclusively originates from chromosomal mutations, either during normal DNA replication or under stress, when the expression of error-prone DNA polymerases increases to repair damaged DNA. To bypass DNA lesions and catalyze error-prone DNA synthesis, translesion polymerases must be able to access the DNA, temporarily replacing the high-fidelity replicative polymerase. The mechanisms that govern polymerase exchange are not well understood, especially in mycobacteria. Here, using a suite of quantitative fluorescence imaging techniques, we discover that in Mycobacterium smegmatis, as in other bacterial species, the replicative polymerase, DnaE1, exchanges at a timescale much faster than that of DNA replication. Interestingly, t

SUBMITTER: Ng WL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11237743 | biostudies-literature | 2024 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature