Determining Phenotypic Consequences of EmrE Expression Under Various Environmental Stressors

Abstract

EmrE is a multidrug resistance transporter found in the inner membrane of E. coli. EmrE has been shown to efflux many different toxic compounds, most notably quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs), such as ethidium bromide (EtBr), and other polyaromatic cations. While this protein has been extensively studied, the native substrate and function of EmrE is unknown. To understand the range of EmrE activity under various environmental conditions, we tested ethidium efflux under different salt and pH conditions. In these screens, we also noted phenotypic differences arise between different knockout strains of E. coli. Additionally, recent literature suggests that variation in carbon sources may also affect expression and/or function of multidrug efflux pumps, such as EmrE. We have screened EmrE efflux activity in E. coli grown on different carbon sources to determine the phenotypic effect for this particular pump.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.