Mutations conferring resistance to azide in Escherichia coli occur primarily in the secA gene.
Mutant strains of Escherichia coli were screened for the ability to grow on L agar plates containing 3.4 or 4.6 mM sodium azide. Most mutants had mutations located in the leucine region, presumably at the azi locus. Two of these mutants were found to have a mutation in the secA gene, but expression of the resistance phenotype also required the presence of upstream gene X. While a plasmid carrying the X-secA mutant gene pair was able to confer azide resistance to a sensitive host, a similar plasmid harboring the wild-type secA allele rendered a resistant strain sensitive to azide, indicating codominance of the two alleles. That azide inhibits SecA is consistent with the fact that SecA has ATPase activity, an activity that is often prone to inhibition by azide.
Fortin
Y
Y
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Université de Montréal, Québec, Canada.
Phoenix
P
P
Drapeau
G R
GR
D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases / Q000235:genetics*; D001386:Azides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial / Q000235:genetics*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics*; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D005798:Genes, Bacterial / Q000187:drug effects*; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D009154:Mutation; D010641:Phenotype; D011815:R Factors; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D000069816:SEC Translocation Channels; D000081416:SecA Proteins; D019810:Sodium Azide; D013489:Suppression, Genetic
D001386:Azides; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D000069816:SEC Translocation Channels; D019810:Sodium Azide; D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases; D000081416:SecA Proteins