Genomic and transcriptome analysis of triclosan response of a multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii strain, MDR-ZJ06.

During the last decade, an increasing amount of attention has focused on the potential threat of triclosan to both the human body and environmental ecology. However, the role of triclosan in the development of drug resistance and cross resistance is still in dispute ascribed to largely unknown of triclosan resistance mechanism. In this work, Acinetobacter baumannii MDR-ZJ06, a multidrug-resistant strain, was induced by triclosan, and the genomic variation and transcriptional levels were investigated, respectively. The comparative transcriptomic analysis found that several general protective mechanisms were enhanced under the triclosan condition, including responses to reactive oxygen species and cell membrane damage. Meanwhile, all of the detected fifteen single nucleotide polymorphisms were not directly associated triclosan tolerance. In summary, this work revealed the crucial role of the general stress response in A. baumannii under a triclosan stress condition, which informs a more comprehensive understanding of the role of triclosan in the spread of drug-resistant bacteria.