RNA Sequencing of Benzoate-Tolerant Escherichia coli

Over the course of a 2000-generation laboratory evolution of Escherichia coli K-12 W3110 in the presence of benzoic acid, the bacteria evolved resistance to high concentrations of benzoate, while simultaneously becoming more sensitive to chloramphenicol. To understand the link between benzoate tolerance and antibiotic sensitivity, we sequenced transcriptomes of four benzoate-tolerant strains of E. coli in 5 mM benzoate at pH 6.5 and of the ancestral strain, W3110, with and without benzoate.