Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Research Highlight
  • Published:

Bacterial genetics

Amplified origins of antibiotic resistance

Nature Reviews Microbiology volume 12, pages 394–395 (2014)Cite this article

Subjects

Slager et al. studied the response of Streptococcus pneumoniae (which causes pneumonia and other diseases) to the bacterial DNA polymerase inhibitor 6-(p-hydroxyphenylazo)-uracil (HPUra). The resulting replication stress caused competence, as shown by the transcriptional induction of competence genes and by the ability to import and integrate exogenous DNA. From a global analysis of the transcriptional response to HPUra, the authors found that it was specifically genes proximal to the DNA replication origin (oriC) that were upregulated, including known com genes.

Interestingly, fluorescence microscopy and DNA copy-number analysis showed that HPUra slowed replisome progression away from oriC while allowing repeated firing of new DNA replication at oriC, thus increasing the copy number of oriC-proximal genes relative to genes elsewhere on the chromosome and providing an explanation for their selective transcriptional upregulation. Further evidence for this mechanism came from engineered strains, in which moving com genes away from oriC blocked antibiotic-induced competence, whereas additional copies of oriC-proximal com genes speeded up the response.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Slager, J. et al. Antibiotic-induced replication stress triggers bacterial competence by increasing gene dosage near the origin. Cell 157, 395–406 (2014)

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Associate Editor, Nature Reviews Genetics,

    Darren J. Burgess

Authors
  1. Darren J. Burgess
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Burgess, D. Amplified origins of antibiotic resistance. Nat Rev Microbiol 12, 394–395 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrmicro3275

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrmicro3275

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing Microbiology

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Microbiology newsletter — what matters in microbiology research, free to your inbox weekly.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing: Microbiology