Defects in DNA double ‐strand break repair resensitize antibiotic‐resistant Escherichia coli to multiple bactericidal antibiotics

This study identified bacterial DNA double-strand break repair as a promising target for the development of resistance-breaking co-therapies. We observed that defects in the double-strand break repair pathway led to significant resensitization of antibiotic-resistantEscherichia coli toward five bactericidal antibiotics representing different functional classes. AbstractAntibiotic resistance is becoming increasingly prevalent amongst bacterial pathogens and there is an urgent need to develop new types of antibiotics with novel modes of action. One promising strategy is to develop resistance-breaker compounds, which inhibit resistance mechanisms and thus resensitize bacteria to existing antibiotics. In the current study, we identify bacterial DNA double-strand break repair as a promising target for the development of resistance-breaking co-therapies. We examined genetic variants ofEscherichia coli that combined antibiotic-resistance determinants with DNA repair defects. We observed that defects in the double-strand break repair pathway led to significant resensitization toward  five bactericidal antibiotics representing different functional classes. Effects ranged from partial to full resensitization. For ciprofloxacin and nitrofurantoin, sensitization manifested as a reduction in the minimum inhibitory concentration. For kanamycin and trimethoprim, sensitivity manifeste d through increased rates of killing at high antibiotic concentrations. For ampicillin, repair defects dr...
Source: MicrobiologyOpen - Category: Microbiology Authors: Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLE Source Type: research