CHAPTER 4.1: How Microbes Cope with Oxidative Stress

Cells of the mammalian innate immune system produce large amounts of antimicrobial oxidants such as hypochlorous acid (bleach) as a first line of defense to kill invading pathogens and control bacterial colonization. This chapter reviews the various strategies that microorganisms use to cope with and defend themselves against these toxic oxidants. The metabolic adaptations that bacteria such as Escherichia coli undergo in response to hypochlorous acid stress are discussed, newly recognized hypochlorous acid-specific transcriptional regulators are reviewed and how bacteria use specialized chaperone systems to defend their proteome against irreversible oxidative damage is summarized. Future studies will show if and how these bacterial defense strategies can be exploited as novel antimicrobial drug targets.