Azithromycin can induce SOS response and horizontal gene transfer of SXT element in Vibrio cholerae.

Background: The emergence and spread of drug resistance in Vibrio cholerae are mainly attributed to horizontal gene transfer of mobile genetic elements, especially the SXT (sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim) element, an integrative conjugative element carrying multiple drug resistance genes. SOS (save our souls) bacterial stress response in Vibrio cholerae plays a pivotal role in inducing the SXT element transfer and induction of the CTX prophage, carrying the important virulence factor cholera toxin encoded by the ctxAB gene.

Methods: This study investigated whether the subinhibitory concentration of antibiotics like ciprofloxacin, tetracycline, and azithromycin induce SOS response by detecting the expression of recA and lexA, the key genes of SOS response by reverse transcriptase real time PCR (RT-qPCR).

In-vitro study of the effect of Centella asiatica on cholera toxin production and the gene expression level of ctxA gene in Vibrio cholerae isolates.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Centella asiatica (L.) Urb or Indian pennywort is a plant of ethnopharmacological relevance, commonly called as Brahmi in South India known for its antimicrobial property in gut and for the treatment of other gut ailments. Natural anti-virulence drugs that disarm pathogens by directly targeting virulence factors or the cell viability and are thus preferred over antibiotics as these drugs impose limited selection pressure for resistance development.

Haitian-like genetic traits with creeping MIC of Azithromycin in O1 isolates from Puducherry, India.

The emergence of novel strains of O1 El Tor biotype has gained attention due to causing several epidemics around the world. Variant strains have evolved as a result of the acquisition of genes that confer extended virulence and pathogenicity. This study aimed to determine the presence of the most recently emerging Haitian-like genetic traits among the isolates from Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Pondicherry, Southern India.