ArticleNature microbiology2017
Horizontally acquired AT-rich genes in Escherichia coli cause toxicity by sequestering RNA polymerase.
Article in Nature microbiology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 57 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
57 citing papers in PubMed, 89 citations in OpenAlex.
- A plasmid-encoded H-NS protein selectively binds its own plasmid.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Yad fimbriae are triggered by host cues and enhance extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli tissue colonisation during bloodstream infection.PLoS pathogens · 2026Article
- De novo promoters emerge more readily from random DNA than from genomic DNA.Science advances · 2026Article
- Cell-free genomics reveals fundamental regulatory principles of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis transcription cycle.Molecular cell · 2026Article
- Genome-wide DNA bridging by H-NS reshapes the stationary phase nucleoid and transcriptional landscape.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Rho-dependent transcription termination: mechanisms and roles in bacterial fitness and adaptation to environmental changes.RNA (New York, N.Y.) · 2025Review
- Article
- The role of bacterial metabolism in antimicrobial resistance.Nature reviews. Microbiology · 2025Review
- Post-translational modifications of the nucleoid protein H-NS: sites, mechanisms, and regulatory cues.FEMS microbiology reviews · 2025Review
- H-NS controls the susceptibility ofFrontiers in veterinary science · 2025Article
- Stochastic nature and physiological implications of 5'-NAD RNA cap in bacteria.Nucleic acids research · 2024Article
- H-NS is a bacterial transposon capture protein.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Identification of promoter activity in gene-less cassettes from Vibrionaceae superintegrons.Nucleic acids research · 2024Article
- Transcription-driven DNA supercoiling counteracts H-NS-mediated gene silencing in bacterial chromatin.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Lysine acetylation regulates the AT-rich DNA possession ability of H-NS.Nucleic acids research · 2024Article
- Cbp1 and Cren7 form chromatin-like structures that ensure efficient transcription of long CRISPR arrays.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Employing Cloning-Independent Mutagenesis of Parvimonas micra for the Study of Cell Wall Biogenesis.Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) · 2024Article
- In Vitro Transcription Assay to Quantify Effects of H-NS Filaments on RNA Chain Elongation by RNA Polymerase.Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) · 2024Article
- The environmentally-regulated interplay between local three-dimensional chromatin organisation and transcription of proVWX in E. coli.Nature communications · 2023Article
- Regulatory fine-tuning of mcr-1 increases bacterial fitness and stabilises antibiotic resistance in agricultural settings.The ISME journal · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Horizontal gene transfer permits rapid dissemination of genetic elements between individuals in bacterial populations. Transmitted DNA sequences may encode favourable traits. However, if the acquired DNA has an atypical base composition, it can reduce host fitness. Consequently, bacteria have evolved strategies to minimize the harmful effects of foreign genes. Most notably, xenogeneic silencing proteins bind incoming DNA that has a higher AT content than the host genome. An enduring question has been why such sequences are deleterious. Here, we showed that the toxicity of AT-rich DNA in Escherichia coli frequently results from constitutive transcription initiation within the coding regions of genes. Left unchecked, this causes titration of RNA polymerase and a global downshift in host gene expression. Accordingly, a mutation in RNA polymerase that diminished the impact of AT-rich DNA on host fitness reduced transcription from constitutive, but not activator-dependent, promoters.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.