Zinc blocks SOS-induced antibiotic resistance via inhibition of RecA in Escherichia coli

What is it about?

We tested various ways of inducing a bacterial stress response called the SOS Response, which is triggered by DNA damage. In addition to classical ways of inducing the SOS response, such as UV light and mitomycin C, we found that commonly used antibiotics and cancer chemotherapy drugs "turned on" the SOS response. One of the results of SOS induction is a higher mutation rate in bacteria, including mutations resulting in antibiotic resistance. And we found that zinc could block the SOS response and also block the emergence of antibiotic resistance.

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Why is it important?

In addition to commonly used antibiotics and cancer chemotherapy drugs, another way to inducing the SOS response was with the herbicide paraquat. Paraquat use is on the rise in the U.S., because weeds are becoming resistant to glyphosate, also known as "Round-Up." Most of the Paraquat in the world is made by the Swiss Chemical Company Syngenta, but paraquat is banned in the European Union ! This means that if a farmer sprays crops with paraquat, (s)he could be inadvertently triggering emergence of resistance to antibiotics among the bacteria living in the soil where that crop is being raised. Then if we eat the crop that contains those bacteria, we might acquire the resistant bacterial strain as well.

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