Overexpression of the Escherichia coli sugE Gene Confers Resistance to a Narrow Range of Quaternary Ammonium Compounds

SugE of Escherichia coli, first identified as a suppressor of groEL mutations but a member of the small multidrug resistance family, has not previously been shown to confer a drug resistance phenotype. We show that high-level expression of sugE leads to resistance to a subset of toxic quaternary ammonium compounds.