The mazEF toxin-antitoxin system as a novel antibacterial target in Acinetobacter baumannii

Although analysis of toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems can be instructive, to date, there is no information on the prevalence and identity of TA systems based on a large panel of Acinetobacter baumannii clinical isolates. The aim of the current study was to screen for functional TA systems among clinical...

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Main Authors: Ghafourian, Sobhan, Good, Liam, Sekawi, Zamberi, Awang Hamat, Rukman, Soheili, Sara, Sadeghifard, Nourkhoda, Neela, Vasantha Kumari
Format: Article
Published: Instituto Oswaldo Cruz 2014
Online Access:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/35747/
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author Ghafourian, Sobhan
Good, Liam
Sekawi, Zamberi
Awang Hamat, Rukman
Soheili, Sara
Sadeghifard, Nourkhoda
Neela, Vasantha Kumari
author_facet Ghafourian, Sobhan
Good, Liam
Sekawi, Zamberi
Awang Hamat, Rukman
Soheili, Sara
Sadeghifard, Nourkhoda
Neela, Vasantha Kumari
author_sort Ghafourian, Sobhan
building UPM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Although analysis of toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems can be instructive, to date, there is no information on the prevalence and identity of TA systems based on a large panel of Acinetobacter baumannii clinical isolates. The aim of the current study was to screen for functional TA systems among clinical isolates of A. baumannii and to identify the systems' locations. For this purpose, we screened 85 A. baumannii isolates collected from different clinical sources for the presence of the mazEF, relBE and higBA TA genes. The results revealed that the genes coding for the mazEF TA system were commonly present in all clinical isolates of A. baumannii. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction analysis showed that transcripts were produced in the clinical isolates. Our findings showed that TA genes are prevalent, harboured by chromosomes and transcribed within A. baumannii. Hence, activation of the toxin proteins in the mazEF TA system should be investigated further as an effective antibacterial strategy against this bacterium.
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institution Universiti Putra Malaysia
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publishDate 2014
publisher Instituto Oswaldo Cruz
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spelling upm-357472016-02-05T00:28:03Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/35747/ The mazEF toxin-antitoxin system as a novel antibacterial target in Acinetobacter baumannii Ghafourian, Sobhan Good, Liam Sekawi, Zamberi Awang Hamat, Rukman Soheili, Sara Sadeghifard, Nourkhoda Neela, Vasantha Kumari Although analysis of toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems can be instructive, to date, there is no information on the prevalence and identity of TA systems based on a large panel of Acinetobacter baumannii clinical isolates. The aim of the current study was to screen for functional TA systems among clinical isolates of A. baumannii and to identify the systems' locations. For this purpose, we screened 85 A. baumannii isolates collected from different clinical sources for the presence of the mazEF, relBE and higBA TA genes. The results revealed that the genes coding for the mazEF TA system were commonly present in all clinical isolates of A. baumannii. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction analysis showed that transcripts were produced in the clinical isolates. Our findings showed that TA genes are prevalent, harboured by chromosomes and transcribed within A. baumannii. Hence, activation of the toxin proteins in the mazEF TA system should be investigated further as an effective antibacterial strategy against this bacterium. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz 2014-06 Article NonPeerReviewed Ghafourian, Sobhan and Good, Liam and Sekawi, Zamberi and Awang Hamat, Rukman and Soheili, Sara and Sadeghifard, Nourkhoda and Neela, Vasantha Kumari (2014) The mazEF toxin-antitoxin system as a novel antibacterial target in Acinetobacter baumannii. Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, 109 (4). pp. 502-505. ISSN 0074-0276; ESSN: 1678-8060 http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_abstract&pid=S0074-02762014000400502&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en 10.1590/0074-0276130601
spellingShingle Ghafourian, Sobhan
Good, Liam
Sekawi, Zamberi
Awang Hamat, Rukman
Soheili, Sara
Sadeghifard, Nourkhoda
Neela, Vasantha Kumari
The mazEF toxin-antitoxin system as a novel antibacterial target in Acinetobacter baumannii
title The mazEF toxin-antitoxin system as a novel antibacterial target in Acinetobacter baumannii
title_full The mazEF toxin-antitoxin system as a novel antibacterial target in Acinetobacter baumannii
title_fullStr The mazEF toxin-antitoxin system as a novel antibacterial target in Acinetobacter baumannii
title_full_unstemmed The mazEF toxin-antitoxin system as a novel antibacterial target in Acinetobacter baumannii
title_short The mazEF toxin-antitoxin system as a novel antibacterial target in Acinetobacter baumannii
title_sort mazef toxin-antitoxin system as a novel antibacterial target in acinetobacter baumannii
url http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/35747/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/35747/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/35747/