| title: | Toxins-antitoxins and multidrug tolerance in bacteria |
|---|---|
| reg no: | ETF6764 |
| project type: | Estonian Science Foundation research grant |
| subject: |
1.9. Genetics, Physiology and Microbiology |
| status: | accepted |
| institution: | Tartu University Institute of Technology |
| head of project: | Niilo Kaldalu |
| duration: | 01.01.2006 - 31.12.2009 |
| description: | Biofilm infections and other chronic bacterial infections are recalcitrant to treatment with antibiotics. Biofilm resistance is due to persisters - phenotypically tolerant, growth-arrested bacteria within a growing culture. In search of the mechanism of persister formation we saw induced transcription of relBE and several other toxin-antitoxin (TA) loci in persisters of Escherichia coli. Increased transcription of the TA loci indicates decrease in antitoxin levels and consequent activation of toxins that leads to growth arrest and resulting tolerance to antibiotics. Analysis of the transcription profile of persisters enabled us to locate a new toxin-antitoxin cassette on E. coli chromosome: ygiUT. The aim of the proposed project is to study further the role of toxins-antitoxins in formation of persisters. We plan to study YgiUT as a TA pair of a new family, characterize its mechanism of action and the regulation of expression. In addition, we plan to search for new TA cassettes in genomes of E. coli and other bacteria using their ability to stabilize unstable plasmids. |
| project group | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| no | name | institution | position | |
| 1. | Niilo Kaldalu | Tartu Ülikooli Tehnoloogiainstituut | ||