Genome-Wide Screening and Characterization of Genes Involved in Response to High Dose of Ciprofloxacin in Escherichia coli

Abstract Background Antibiotic resistance is an urgent threat to public health. Prior to the evolution of antibiotic resistance, bacteria frequently undergo response and tend to develop a state of adaption to the antibiotic. Ciprofloxacin is a broad-spectrum antibiotic by damaging DNA. With the widespread clinical application, the resistance of bacteria to ciprofloxacin continues to increase. This study aimed to investigate the transcriptome changes under the action of high concentration of ciprofloxacin in Escherichia coli. Results We identified 773 higher expressed differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and 645 lower expressed DEGs in ciprofloxacin treated cells. Enriched biological pathways reflected the up-regulation of biological process such as DNA damage and repair system, toxin/antitoxin systems, formaldehyde detoxification system, peptide biosynthetic process and cellular protein metabolic process. With KEGG pathway analysis, higher expressed DEGs of kdsA and waa operon were associated with “LPS biosynthesis”. rfbABC operon was related to “streptomycin biosynthesis” and “polyketide sugar unit biosynthesis ”. Lower expressed DEGs of thrABC and fliL operons were associated with “flagellum-dependent cell motility” and “bacterial-type flagellum” in GO terms, and enriched into “biosynthesis of amino acids” and “flagellar assembly” in KEGG pathways. After treatment of ciprofloxacin, bacterial lipopolysacchride (LPS) release was increased by two times, and the mRNA expression level of LPS synthesis genes, waaB, waaP and waaG were elevated (P < 0.05). Conclusions Characterization of the gene clusters by RNA-seq showed high dose of ciprofloxacin not only lead to damage of bacterial macromolecules and components, but also induce protective response against antibiotic action by up-regulating the SOS system, toxin/antitoxin system and formaldehyde detoxification system. Moreover, genes related to biosynthesis of LPS were also higher expressed by the treatment indicating that ciprofloxacin can enhance the production of endotoxin on the level of transcription. These results demonstrated that transient exposure of high dose ciprofloxacin is double edged. Cautions should be taken when administering the high dose antibiotic treatment for infectious diseases.