Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39908144›Full record

ArticleCell reports2025

A mutation in RNA polymerase imparts resistance to β-lactams by preventing dysregulation of amino acid and nucleotide metabolism.

Yesha Patel, John D Helmann

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Cell reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. ThebioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025
    Article
  5. Staying in the loop to make ends meet: roles and regulation of GlmR inbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025
    Article
  6. Article
  7. Metabolic rewiring of isoniazid sensitivity inProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Yesha PatelDepartment of Microbiology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853-8101, USA.
John D HelmannDepartment of Microbiology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853-8101, USA. Electronic address: jdh9@cornell.edu.

Funding

Bacillus subtilis Stress ResponsesR35GM122461 · NIGMS · CORNELL UNIVERSITY · PI John D Helmann · 2017 to 2026
$7.6M
NIGMS NIH HHS R35 GM122461
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Resistance to diverse antibiotics can result from mutations in RNA polymerase (RNAP), but the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. In this study, we compare two Bacillus subtilis RNAP mutations: one in β' (rpoC G1122D) that increases resistance to cefuroxime (CEF; a model β-lactam) and one in β (rpoB H482Y) that increases sensitivity. CEF resistance is mediated by a decrease in branched-chain amino acid (BCAA), methionine, and pyrimidine pathways. These same pathways are upregulated by CEF, and their derepression increases CEF sensitivity and antibiotic-induced production of reactive oxygen species. The CEF-resistant rpoC G1122D mutant evades these metabolic perturbations, and repression of the BCAA and pyrimidine pathways may function to restrict membrane biogenesis, which is beneficial when cell wall synthesis is impaired. These findings provide a vivid example of how RNAP mutations, which commonly arise in response to diverse selection conditions, can rewire cellular metabolism to enhance fitness.

Indexed as

Amino AcidsBacillus subtilisbeta-LactamsDNA-Directed RNA PolymerasesMutationNucleotidesAnti-Bacterial AgentsBacterial ProteinsCefuroximeReactive Oxygen SpeciesAmino AcidsAnti-Bacterial AgentsBacterial Proteinsbeta-LactamsCefuroximeDNA-Directed RNA PolymerasesNucleotidesReactive Oxygen SpeciesBacillus subtilisbranched-chain amino acidsCP: Microbiologymembrane biogenesismetabolismmethioninepeptidoglycanpyrimidinesRNA polymeraseβ-lactam

Identifiers

PMID39908144
PMCPMC11975431

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Registered trials

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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.