Alteration of global transcription by the Tormentil and its constituents in Acinetobacter baumannii AB5075

We perform RNA-seq comparing a treatment with 50 µM agrimoniin, 2.3 µM ellagic acid, 0.05 mg/mL of Wicklow tormentil root extract to a mock treatment (DMSO) in A. baumannii AB5075 in order to describe the alterations in global transcription produced by these treatments. As a result, Agrimoniin elicited a response that led to significant differential expression in 414 genes, with 216 showing upregulation and 198 showing downregulation. Ellagic acid exerted an even more pronounced effect, with 636 genes exhibiting significant differential expression; among these, 455 were upregulated and 181 were downregulated. Similarly, Wicklow tormentil root extract impacted gene expression resulting in significant differential expression in 517 genes, wherein 378 were upregulated and 139 were downregulated. In highlights, the gene functional groups showing the strongest transcriptional alterations were those related to iron acquisition, storage, siderophore biosynthesis and iron transport genes. Overall design: A. baumannii AB5075 cultures were grown in LB medium in the presence of with 50 µM agrimoniin, 2.3 µM ellagic acid, 0.05 mg/mL of Wicklow tormentil root extract or a DMSO control (3 biological replicates per condition) until reaching mid-exponential phase. At this point, cells were harvested, treated with RNAlater for preservation of total RNA and stored at -80 C. After that, total RNA was extracted from each sample. Three independent replicates of A. baumannii AB5075 were grown to mid-exponential phase in LB medium supplemented with 50 µM agrimoniin, 2.3 µM ellagic acid or 0.05 mg/mL of Wicklow tormentil root extract and compared to three independent replicates grown in the same conditions but receiving a mock treatment (equivalent volume of DMSO).