The transcription factors ActR and SoxR differentially affect the phenazine tolerance of Agrobacterium tumefaciens.

ABSTRACT: Bacteria in soils encounter redox-active compounds, such as phenazines, that can generate oxidative stress, but the mechanisms by which different species tolerate these compounds are not fully understood. Here, we identify two transcription factors, ActR and SoxR, that play contrasting yet complementary roles in the tolerance of the soil bacterium Agrobacterium tumefaciens to phenazines. We show that ActR promotes phenazine tolerance by proactively driving expression of a more energy-efficient terminal oxidase at the expense of a less efficient alternative, which may affect the rate at which phenazines abstract electrons from the electron transport chain (ETC) and thereby generate reactive oxygen species. SoxR, on the other hand, responds to phenazines by inducing expression of several eff

SUBMITTER: Perry EK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6615960 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature