Abstract
The Escherichia coli (E. coli) SOS response is the largest, most complex, and best characterized bacterial network induced by DNA damage. It is controlled by a complex network involving the RecA and LexA proteins. We have previously shown that the SOS response to DNA damage is inhibited by various elements involved in the expression of the E. coli toxin-antitoxin mazEF pathway. Since the mazEF module is present on the chromosomes of most E. coli strains, here we asked: Why is the SOS response found in so many E. coli strains? Is the mazEF module present but inactive in those strains? We examined three E. coli strains used for studies of the SOS response, strains AB1932, BW25113, and MG1655. We found that each of these strains is either missing or inhibiting one of several elements involved in the expression of the mazEF-mediated death pathway. Thus, the SOS response only takes place in E. coli cells in which one or more elements of the E. coli toxin-antitoxin module mazEF or its downstream pathway is not functioning.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | e114380 |
| Journal | PLoS ONE |
| Volume | 9 |
| Issue number | 12 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 2014 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2014 Kalderon et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.