The SOS Response Mediates Sustained Colonization of the Mammalian Gut.

ABSTRACT: Bacteria have a remarkable ability to survive, persist, and ultimately adapt to environmental challenges. A ubiquitous environmental hazard is DNA damage, and most bacteria have evolved a network of genes to combat genotoxic stress. This network is known as the SOS response and aids in bacterial survival by regulating genes involved in DNA repair and damage tolerance. Recently, the SOS response has been shown to play an important role in bacterial pathogenesis, and yet the role of the SOS response in nonpathogenic organisms and in physiological settings remains underexplored. Using a commensal Escherichia coli strain, MP1, we showed that the SOS response plays a vital role during colonization of the murine gut. In an unperturbed environment, the SOS-off mutant is impaired for stable

SUBMITTER: Samuels AN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6346138 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature