Generic transcriptional response of E. coli to stress

Bacteria are often exposed to various stressors with inter-linked effects leading to cross-resistance. In order to study the common molecular response to stress in bacteria, we collated and compared transcriptional response of E. coli under a variety of biotic and abiotic stresses. Bacterial genome-wide gene expression data were retrieved from the NCBI Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and interrogated to identify differentially expressed genes.\n\nOne hundred and sixty eight genes displayed distinct transcriptional response of E. coli to stress, with simultaneous down-regulation of flagellar assembly pathway and up-regulation of the global regulator rpoS.\n\nThis computational analysis summarizes stress responsive genes in E. coli and their inter-relationships.