Genome-wide mapping of fluoroquinolone-stabilized DNA gyrase cleavage sites displays drug specific effects that correlate with bacterial persistence.

ABSTRACT: Bacterial persisters are rare phenotypic variants that are suspected to be culprits of recurrent infections. Fluoroquinolones (FQs) are a class of antibiotics that facilitate bacterial killing by stabilizing bacterial type II topoisomerases when they are in a complex with cleaved DNA. In Escherichia coli, DNA gyrase is the primary FQ target, and previous work has demonstrated that persisters are not spared from FQ-induced DNA damage. Since DNA gyrase cleavage sites (GCSs) largely govern the sites of DNA damage from FQ treatment, we hypothesized that GCS characteristics (e.g. number, strength, location) may influence persistence. To test this hypothesis, we measured genome-wide GCS distributions after treatment with a panel of FQs in stationary-phase cultures. We found drug-specific effects

SUBMITTER: Tang J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9943676 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature