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Updated: Apr 20, 2026

Mapping Bacterial Functional Networks and Pathways in Escherichia Coli using Synthetic Genetic Arrays
Published on: November 12, 2012
The SOS response is permitted in Escherichia coli strains deficient in the expression of the mazEF pathway
Ziva Kalderon1, Sathish Kumar1, Hanna Engelberg-Kulka1
1Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, IMRIC, The Hebrew University- Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel.
Abstract:
The Escherichia coli (E. coli) SOS response is the largest, most complex, and best characterized bacterial network induced by DNA damage. It is controlled by a complex network involving the RecA and LexA proteins. We have previously shown that the SOS response to DNA damage is inhibited by various elements involved in the expression of the E. coli toxin-antitoxin mazEF pathway. Since the mazEF module is present on the chromosomes of most E. coli strains, here we asked: Why is the SOS response found in so many E. coli strains? Is the mazEF module present but inactive in those strains? We examined three E. coli strains used for studies of the SOS response, strains AB1932, BW25113, and MG1655. We found that each of these strains is either missing or inhibiting one of several elements involved in the expression of the mazEF-mediated death pathway. Thus, the SOS response only takes place in E. coli cells in which one or more elements of the E. coli toxin-antitoxin module mazEF or its downstream pathway is not functioning.
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