RNA-seq analysis of antibacterial mechanism of Cinnamomum camphora essential oil against Escherichia coli

Transcriptome analysis plays a central role in elucidating the complexity of gene expression regulation in . In recent years, the overuse of antibiotics has led to an increase in antimicrobial resistance, which greatly reduces the efficacy of antibacterial drugs and affects people's health. Therefore, several researchers are focused on finding other materials, which could replace or supplement antibiotic treatment. was treated with water, acetone and essential oils, respectively. The antibacterial activity was assessed using the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC), the dry weight and the wet weight of the cells. To explore the antibacterial mechanism of the oil, the RNA-Seq analysis was adopted under three different treatments. Finally, the expression of related genes was verified by Quantitative PCR. In this study, we showed that the essential oil exerted a strong antibacterial effect. Our results showed that the inhibitory efficiency increased with increasing of the concentration of essential oil. RNA-seq analysis indicated that the essential oil inhibited the growth of by inhibiting the metabolism, chemotaxis, and adhesion, meanwhile, life activities were maintained by enhancing resistance reactions. These results are contributed to uncover the antimicrobial mechanisms of essential oils against , and the essential oil could be applied as an antibacterial agent to replace or ally with antibiotic.