Abstract:
In addition to acting on the primary targets, recent evidence indicates that bactericidal
antibiotics such as kanamycin, norfloxacin, ampicillin have the ability to induce oxidative
stress in bacterial cells, which in turn may increase the killing efficacy of the antibiotics.
However, it remains to be understood if the oxidative stress response mechanisms in bacteria
play any role in enhancing the resistance of bacterial cells towards the antibiotic. The
oxidative stress response regulator, OxyR, plays a major role in overcoming the oxidative
stress response in bacteria. Using a gain-of-function mutant of OxyR from Caulobacter
crescentus, this work attempts to dissect the mechanism and role of OxyR during
antibiotic-induced oxidative stress.
