All isolates, except the isolate encoding tetB-D (4584), had increased invasion gene expression following tetracycline exposure during early-log phase. Though a specific unknown

mechanism that induces invasion in response to tetracycline may exist, it is not shared by all isolates and is independent of SGI-1. Induction of invasion due to tetracycline exposure is restricted to a subset of MDR S. Typhimurium isolates. Previous work by Carlson et al. tested over 400 DT104 isolates that were exposed to tetracycline and grown to stationary phase, but no difference in invasion due to antibiotic treatment was observed [14]. Our data for the DT104 and DT193 isolates grown to late-log phase and then exposed to tetracycline are consistent with these results. Also, the increase selleck chemical in virulence gene expression during late-log growth after tetracycline exposure reported by Weir et al. [13]

parallels our expression data. However, no previous study examined the effect of any antibiotic on DT193 or during early-log growth, and it was these two factors that were critical to observing the induction of the invasion phenotype due to tetracycline. The basis for the difference in response between DT193 and DT104 CP-690550 could be genetic content (e.g. the presence of additional virulence genes), the differential regulation of a particular response, or both. Many studies have shown that antibiotics can directly or indirectly effect transcription and regulation of cellular processes [30–33]. In the current study, tetracycline up-regulated genes associated with virulence, but this was not always coincident with an increase in the invasive phenotype. The regulation of invasion is a complex network of interactions and responses, and it is possible that the tetracycline

stimulus could affect targets downstream of hilA, invF, and prgH; such a response could up-regulate a repressor of invasion in the non-induced isolates. Genome sequencing of the isolates, plus transcriptomic analyses, will provide a more complete picture of what genes and processes are being affected by tetracycline exposure. Evaluation of other antibiotics would also discern if the Reverse transcriptase response is specific to tetracycline, or if it is general to an antibiotic stress. The response to tetracycline by some MDR S. Typhimurium isolates could provide a selective advantage to the bacteria by quickly and efficiently promoting entry into an intracellular niche within the host. Additionally, the use of efflux pumps to maintain viability in the presence of tetracycline is an active transport mechanism that requires energy to generate the proton gradient needed to drive the antiporter [34]; escaping such an environment would benefit the bacteria as fewer resources are required in the absence of the antibiotic. MDR S.