ORIGINAL RESEARCH

Conserved sequences of genes coding for the multidrug resistance pump AcrAB-TolC of Escherichia coli suggest their involvement into permanent cell “cleaning”

Karakozova MV1, Nazarov PA2
About authors

1 Research Centre for Medical Genetics, Moscow

2 Belozersky Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology,
Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow

Correspondence should be addressed: Marina Karakozova
Microrayon 1, d.15, kv. 43, Zaraisk, Zaraiski r-n, Moscow region, 140601; moc.liamg@200257kvm

About paper

Acknowledgement: the authors wish to thank students (Dzhafarova T, Mamedova D, Maushev F, Miranian K, Omarova D and Rodionova E) and the Department of Morphology and Pathology of Medical Institute REAVIZ for the provided data, their analysis and discussion.

Received: 2018-02-19 Accepted: 2018-03-30 Published online: 2018-07-06
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Multidrug resistance pumps (MDR pumps) of bacteria confer protection against aggressive environmental factors. The genes coding for MDR pumps are thought to be variable. They belong to the group of the so-called contingency genes, i.e are necessary for bacterial adaptation to the changing environment. The aim of the present work was to establish how conserved are the sequences of genes coding for MDR pumps. We analyzed the sequences of AcrA, AcrB and TolC proteins of different Escherichia coli strains. Using sequence alignment tools, we demonstrated that strains originating in different countries and cultured in the labs for a long time are amazingly conserved in terms of AcrAB-TolC sequences. They resemble housekeeping genes, suggesting the involvement of the AcrAB-TolC pump into permanent “cleaning” of various biotic and abiotic agents.

Keywords: multidrug resistance, antibiotic, AcrAB-TolC, sequence alignment, Escherichia coli, pump, transporter, biocide, contingency genes, housekeeping genes

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