A. baumannii ATCC 17978 & A. baylyi ADP1 Gene Expression in Response to DNA Damage

The SOS response to DNA damage that induces up to 10% of the prokaryotic genome requires RecA action and relief of LexA transcriptional repression. In the model organism Acinetobacter baylyi ADP1, which like all Acinetobacter, encodes no LexA, the error-prone polymerase accessory UmuDAb is required for ddrR induction after DNA damage. These unusual features prompted us to use next-generation sequencing to analyze the ADP1 DNA damage transcriptome. We compared this environmental microbe’s transcriptome to that of the opportunistic pathogen, Acinetobacter baumannii, in order to examine whether the gene set induced in these different species is highly conserved within the genus