Alteration of global transcription by saccharin in Acinetobacter baumannii AB5075

We perform RNA-seq comparing a treatment with 1% saccharin to a mock treatment in A. baumannii AB5075 in order to describe the alterations in global transcription produced by this artificial sweetener. A. baumannii AB5075 cultures were grown in LB medium in the presence of 1% saccharin or a water control (3 biological replicates per condition) until reaching mid-exponential phase. At this point, cells were harvested, treated with RNAlate for preservation of total RNA and stored at -80 C. After that, total RNA was extracted from each sample. As a result, 165 genes appeared upregulated in the presence of saccharin, whereas 215 were downregulated. In highlights, the gene functional groups showing the strongest transcriptional alterations were those related to pili and frimbriae biogenesis, involved in biofilms formation, adhesion and twitching motility. Overall design: Three independent replicates of A. baumannii AB5075 were grown to mid-exponential phase in LB medium supplemented with 1.33% acesulfame K and compared to three independent replicates grown in the same conditions but receiving a mock treatment (equivalent volume of water).