Figure 5 Effect on growth rates of the pBAD33- orf43 SM12 and SM56 mutations in E. coli

TOP10. (A) Un-induced growth rates for pBAD33 (blue curve), pBAD33-orf43 (red curve) and pBAD33-orf43 SM12 (green curve). (B) Induced growth rates for pBAD33 (blue curve), pBAD33-orf43 (red curve) and pBAD33-orf43[SM12] (green curve). (C) Un-induced growth rates for pBAD33 (blue curve), pBAD33-orf43 (red curve) and pBAD33-orf43 SM56 (green curve). (D) Induced growth rates for pBAD33 (blue curve), pBAD33-orf43 (red curve) and pBAD33-orf43[SM56] (green curve). Note that the SM12 mutation in pBAD33-orf43 caused a return to exponential growth behaviour expected with E. coli cells. Conclusions Epigenetics Compound Library Hierarchical control of the ICE R391 UV-inducible sensitising effect Many SXT/R391-like ICEs reduce post UV survival rates of E. coli host cells through the action of a recA-dependent process [6, 20]. Mutational analysis of the ICE R391 determined that the core genes orfs90/91 and orf43 were required for expression of the cell-sensitising function [8] while bioinformatic analysis indicated that orf96 likely encodes a λ cI-like repressor similar to RecA substrates in other phage systems that are cleaved following SOS induction [9]. Initial attempts to delete orf96 proved fruitless and no deletion could be isolated. However a Δorf96 (Δ28) deletion [8] could be isolated in an ∆orfs90/91 mutant background suggesting that orf96 may control expression

of orfs90/91 which we have shown here directly control Autophagy Compound Library datasheet expression of orf43, the ultimate instigator of the cytotoxicity associated with ICE R391. The data presented here and in Armshaw and Pembroke (2013) [8] have led to the development of a model to explain the control

of UV-inducible sensitisation (Figure 1). We hypothesise that UV irradiation of E. coli induces the host RecA protein which results in cleavage of the ICE R391 encoded product of orf96, the phage λ434 cI-like ICE repressor. We propose that cleavage of Orf96 in turn leads to expression of orfs90/91 which in turn leads Cobimetinib to up-regulation of orf43 and other ICE R391 genes such as orf4 (jef) [14]. We have previously demonstrated that up-regulation of orf4 (jef) leads to increased ICE R391 transfer [14]. In the related ICE SXT, Beaber et al., (2004) [17] demonstrated that SetR, the SXT homolog of Orf96, acted as a repressor of ICE SXT transfer and that it is bound to ICE operators that controlled setC/D, SXT homologs of orfs90/91, in a similar way to our proposal for ICE R391. They also proposed that repression was lifted by induced RecA protein cleaving the SetR repressor in a similar manner to our proposal for orfs90/91. The recA dependence for the ICE R391 UV-sensitising effect [6], the similarity to the SXT system [17], the deletion data and qRT-PCR data presented here support the model presented. It would thus appear that UV irradiation is the instigator of the control loop leading to over expression of orf43 which leads to cytotoxicity.