Mutations in the essential outer membrane protein BamA contribute to Escherichia coli resistance to the antimicrobial peptide TAT-RasGAP_317-326.

ABSTRACT: Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are promising alternatives to classical antibiotics against antibiotic-resistant pathogens. TAT-RasGAP_317-326 is an AMP with broad range antibacterial activity, but its mechanism of action is unknown. In this study, we analyzed a strain of Escherichia coli with extensive resistance to TAT-RasGAP_317-326 but not to other AMPs that we obtained after twenty passages during an in vitro resistance selection experiment. This strain accumulated four mutations. One of these is a point mutation in bamA, which encodes an essential protein involved in the folding and proper insertion of outer membrane proteins. The mutation resulted in a change of charge in a surface-exposed negatively charged loop of the BamA protein. Using CRISPR-Cas9-based targete

SUBMITTER: Georgieva M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11842939 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature