Gentamicin induction of the gonococcal <i>hicAB</i> toxin-antitoxin-encoding system and impact on gene expression influencing biofilm formation and <i>in vivo</i> fitness in a strain-specific manner.

ABSTRACT: The continued emergence of Neisseria gonorrhoeae (Ng) isolates resistant to first-line antibiotics has focused efforts on understanding how alternative therapies, such as the expanded use of gentamicin (Gen), might counteract this global public health problem. Focusing on Gen as a viable alternative antibiotic for the treatment of gonorrheal infections, we used RNA-seq to determine if sub-lethal levels of Gen might impact gonococci on a transcriptional level. We found that sub-lethal Gen levels altered the expression of 23 genes in Ng strain FA19. Many of the differentially regulated genes were associated with known stress responses elaborated by Ng under different harmful conditions. We found that the transcripts of the hicAB operon, which encodes a putative HicA-HicB toxin-

SUBMITTER: Holley CL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12421842 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature