Effects of subinhibitory concentrations of antibiotics on SOS and DNA repair gene expression in Staphylococcus aureus

Reporter clones of Staphylococcus aureus with different SOS response- and DNA repair-associated promoterlux gene fusion constructs were constructed to study the effects of sub-MICs of antibiotics on the transcription of the SOS and methyl mismatch repair (MMR) genes. Fluoroquinolones (FQs) upmodulated both the SOS and the MMR genes. The patterns of antibiotic-induced transcriptional modulation were altered in FQ-resistant mutants.