Mycobacterium tuberculosis Gene Expression Associated With Fluoroquinolone Resistance and Efflux Pump Inhibition

We evaluated the relationship between response to efflux pump inhibition in fluoroquinolone-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) isolates and differences in gene expression and expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL).

We determined ofloxacin minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for ofloxacin-resistant and -susceptible Mtb isolates without and with the efflux pump inhibitor verapamil. We performed RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), whole genome sequencing (WGS), and eQTL analysis, focusing on efflux pump, transport, and secretion-associated genes.

Of 42 ofloxacin-resistant Mtb isolates, 27 had adequate WGS coverage and acceptable RNA-seq quality. Of these 27, 7 had >2-fold reduction in ofloxacin MIC with verapamil; 6 had 2-fold reduction, and 14 had <2-fold reduction. Five genes (including Rv0191) had significantly increased expression in the MIC fold change >2 compared to <2 groups. Among regulated genes, 31 eQTLs (without ofloxacin) and 35 eQTLs (with ofloxacin) had significant allele frequency differences between MIC fold change >2 and <2 groups. Of these, Rv1410c, Rv2459, and Rv3756c (without ofloxacin) and Rv0191 and Rv3756c (with ofloxacin) have previously been associated with antituberculosis drug resistance.

In this first reported eQTL analysis in Mtb, Rv0191 had increased gene expression and significance in eQTL analysis, making it a candidate for functional evaluation of efflux-mediated fluoroquinolone resistance in Mtb.