The cyclic AMP receptor protein (CRP) regulates mqsRA, coding for the bacterial toxin-antitoxin gene pair, in Escherichia coli

Bacterial persisters represent a small number of slow-growing antibiotic-tolerant cells among populations of rapidly growing cells, and are the main cause of frequent recurrent infections. MqsR–MqsA, the toxin-antitoxin (TA) pair, is the most frequently induced TA system associated with antibiotic persistence in Escherichia coli. In this study, we show that the cyclic AMP receptor protein (CRP) indirectly upregulates mqsRA transcription. We also show that CRP plays an important role in antibiotic persistence, which seems to be partially mediated through MqsRA. Overall, this study highlights the role of CRP as an important regulator of antibiotic persistence in E. coli.