es0503534_si_001.pdf (320.5 kB)
Microarray Analysis of Toxicogenomic Effects of Peracetic Acid on Pseudomonas aeruginosa
journal contribution
posted on 2005-08-01, 00:00 authored by Wook Chang, David A. Small, Freshteh Toghrol, William E. BentleyHospital-acquired (nosocomial) infection (HAI) represents
a serious threat to public health, both in terms of human
casualty and in terms of economic impact. On an annual
basis, 2 million individuals require prolonged hospitalization,
and an estimated 90 000 patients die due to HAI. Economic
damages are reported to exceed $4.5 billion, annually.
While many disinfectants, including peracetic acid, have
been employed to eradicate infectious bacteria, a lack of
understanding their mode of action and the corresponding
defense mechanisms hinders successful antimicrobial
application. We report here the first transcriptome analysis
of the response of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a pathogen
infecting those with cystic fibrosis, upon 20 min exposure
to a sublethal concentration (1 mM) of peracetic acid. As
a result, we identified that 570 out of a total of 5570 P.
aeruginosa genes showed statistically significant transcript
level changes. Our findings indicate that (i) many genes
associated with cellular protective processes were induced,
(ii) the transcription of genes involved in primary metabolic
pathways was repressed, and (iii) the transcription of
genes encoding membrane proteins and small molecule
transporters was altered. We also observed that genes within
operons were highly cotranscribed in this study. Finally,
this global transcriptional profile can help identify signature
genes that are also activated with other oxidative
disinfectants, which may be used to design new more
effective treatments or more efficaciously apply existing
compounds.