Global transcriptomic responses of Escherichia coli K-12 to volatile organic compounds

• Main Authors: Yung, Pui Yi, Grasso, Letizia Lo, Mohidin, Abeed Fatima, Acerbi, Enzo, Hinks, Jamie, Seviour, Thomas, Marsili, Enrico, Lauro, Federico M.
• Other Authors: School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Environmental engineering; Volatile Organic Compounds; Escherichia Coli K12
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/83579; http://hdl.handle.net/10220/46656
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are commonly used as solvents in various industrial settings. Many of them present a challenge to receiving environments, due to their toxicity and low bioavailability for degradation. Microorganisms are capable of sensing and responding to their surroundings and this makes them ideal detectors for toxic compounds. This study investigates the global transcriptomic responses of Escherichia coli K-12 to selected VOCs at sub-toxic levels. Cells grown in the presence of VOCs were harvested during exponential growth, followed by whole transcriptome shotgun sequencing (RNAseq). The analysis of the data revealed both shared and unique genetic responses compared to cells without exposure to VOCs.