title: Acinetobacter baumannii RecA protein in repair of DNA damage, antimicrobial resistance, general stress response, and virulence.
abstract: RecA is the major enzyme involved in homologous recombination and plays a central role in SOS mutagenesis. In Acinetobacter spp., including Acinetobacter baumannii , a multidrug-resistant bacterium responsible for nosocomial infections worldwide, DNA repair responses differ in many ways from those of other bacterial species. In this work, the function of A. baumannii RecA was examined by constructing a recA mutant. Alteration of this single gene had a pleiotropic effect, showing the involvement of RecA in DNA damage repair and consequently in cellular protection against stresses induced by DNA damaging agents, several classes of antibiotics, and oxidative agents. In addition, the absence of RecA decreased survival in response to both heat shock and desiccation. Virulence assays in vitro (with macrophages) and in vivo (using a mouse model) similarly implicated RecA in the pathogenicity of A. baumannii . Thus, the data strongly suggest a protective role for RecA in the bacterium and indicate that inactivation of the protein can contribute to a combined therapeutic approach to controlling A. baumannii infections.
authors.affiliation: Servizo de Microbioloxía-INIBIC, Complexo Hospitalario Universitario A Coruña, As Xubias s/n, 15006 A Coruña, Spain.
authors.forename: Jesús
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Aranda
authors.forename: Carlota
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bardina
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Beceiro
authors.forename: Soraya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rumbo
authors.forename: Maria P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Cabral
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Barbé
authors.forename: Germán
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bou
mesh_terms: D000151:Acinetobacter Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D040981:Acinetobacter baumannii / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000472:pathogenicity* / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D004249:DNA Damage; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D011938:Rec A Recombinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D013312:Stress, Physiological; D014774:Virulence
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C089760:RecA protein, Acinetobacter calcoaceticus; D011938:Rec A Recombinases