Antioxidant Functions Required for Insusceptibility of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to Tetracycline Antibiotics

Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase (Sod1) is required for insusceptibility of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to oxytetracycline (OTC). Here we report that Sod1 is also required for insusceptibility to doxycycline (DOX). Furthermore, among a range of antioxidant and redox balance mutants, mac1 and ctr1 deletion strains exhibited marked sensitization to OTC and DOX. Certain mutants exhibited a slight sensitivity to methacycline and minocycline. Addition of copper suppressed antibiotic sensitivity. Thus, intracellular copper as well as superoxide dismutase can be critical for eukaryotic tolerance of several tetracycline antibiotics.