Browse AMR Genes

Explore antimicrobial resistance genes from the literature

recA

DNA repair protein

NCBI Pathogen Isolates

Bacterial genomes carrying this gene

NCBI Reference Gene Catalog

Known alleles and reference sequences

Protein entries specific to recA

Browse AMR rules for recA

Validation StatusSupported

Overview

Mechanism: required for DNA repair and SOS response induction
Validation Method: overexpression in B. fragilis and resistance assay
Drug Classes: Metronidazole, Fluoroquinolone, Levofloxacin, Tigecycline, Ciprofloxacin, CIP
Organisms: Bacteroides fragilis, Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi, Escherichia coli DH5α, Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAS71, Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAS81, Acinetobacter baumannii, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, E. coli
Geographic Location: China, Norway
Alleles: 2
Papers: 12
Databases: Reslit
Mutations: 2

Mutations

Protein Change	Nucleotide Change	Mechanism	Organism	Resistance To	Database	Validation Status
M197D	-	reduces the ability of Rum pol to increase CIP resistance	E. coli	CIP	Reslit	Candidate
A316T	-	-	-	Metronidazole	Reslit	Candidate

Allele Variants2

Allele	Database	Papers	Drug Classes	Organisms	Countries	Years	Sequence Accession	Protein Accession
recA	Reslit	9	Metronidazole, Fluoroquinolone +3	Bacteroides fragilis +7	Norway, China	2010, 2015, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2025	AL513382.1	-
RecA	Reslit	1	Ciprofloxacin	Escherichia coli	-	2025	-	-

Papers12

1

Bacteroides fragilis RecA protein overexpression causes resistance to metronidazole.

PMID 20435137 · 2010

Overexpression of the RecA protein in Bacteroides fragilis increases resistance to metronidazole, representing a novel drug resistance mechanism in this bacterium.

Gene Information

Gene Name: recA
Allele: recA
Encodes: DNA repair protein
Source Database: Reslit
Confers Resistance To: Metronidazole
Organisms Tested In: • Bacteroides fragilis
Validation Method: overexpression in B. fragilis and resistance assay

2

Stationary-Phase Persisters to Ofloxacin Sustain DNA Damage and Require Repair Systems Only during Recovery.

PMID 26330511 · 2015

The study identifies that DNA repair systems, including RecA, RecB, RecN, RuvA, and TisB, are crucial for ofloxacin persistence in stationary-phase E. coli. These systems are needed primarily during recovery after antibiotic treatment, not during the treatment itself.

Gene Information

Gene Name: recA
Allele: recA
Encodes: DNA repair and recombinational repair
Source Database: Reslit
Mechanism: required for DNA repair and SOS response induction
Organisms Tested In: • Escherichia coli
Validation Method: genetic mutants and persistence assays

3

Overexpression of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi recA gene confers fluoroquinolone resistance in Escherichia coli DH5α.

PMID 26375447 · 2015

Overexpression of the recA gene from Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi confers selective fluoroquinolone resistance in Escherichia coli DH5α.

Gene Information

Gene Name: recA
Allele: recA
Encodes: RecA protein
Source Database: Reslit
Confers Resistance To: Fluoroquinolone
Organisms Tested In: • Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi
• Escherichia coli DH5α
Validation Method: cloning in E. coli DH5α + MIC testing
Sequence Accession: AL513382.1

4

Functional screening of a human saliva metagenomic DNA reveal novel resistance genes against sodium hypochlorite and chlorhexidine.

PMID 34886820 · 2021

The study identified novel resistance genes against sodium hypochlorite and chlorhexidine, including accB and recA, along with previously known genes such as msr, mef(A), tetAB(46), and fabK.

Gene Information

Gene Name: recA
Allele: recA
Encodes: recombinase RecA
Source Database: Reslit
Organisms Tested In: • Escherichia coli
Geographic Location: Norway
Validation Method: subcloning and MIC testing
Sequence Accession: MZ955857|MZ955858|MZ955859|MZ955860|MZ955862|MZ955863

5

Genome Recombination-Mediated tRNA Up-Regulation Conducts General Antibiotic Resistance of Bacteria at Early Stage.

PMID 35126332 · 2021

The study shows that tRNA up-regulation mediated by genome recombination contributes to early-stage antibiotic resistance in Escherichia coli, particularly under ciprofloxacin stress.

Gene Information

Gene Name: recA
Allele: recA
Encodes: recombinase
Source Database: Reslit
Organisms Tested In: • Escherichia coli
Validation Method: gene knockout and MIC testing

6

Pseudomonas aeruginosa heteroresistance to levofloxacin caused by upregulated expression of essential genes for DNA replication and repair.

PMID 36620018 · 2022

The study identifies that upregulated expression of genes involved in DNA replication and repair, such as recA, uvrD, xseB, ssb, mutM, and crc, contributes to levofloxacin heteroresistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains PAS71 and PAS81. Additionally, the expression of genes related to bacterial secretion systems, such as gspD, vgrG1, hcpC, clpV1, and ppkA, is increased in PAS81 under LVX stress.

Gene Information

Gene Name: recA
Allele: recA
Encodes: recombinase RecA
Source Database: Reslit
Mechanism: upregulated expression enhances DNA repair and homologous recombination
Confers Resistance To: Levofloxacin
Organisms Tested In: • Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAS71
• Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAS81
Validation Method: transcriptomic analysis and qRT-PCR
Sequence Accession: PRJNA781681|PRJNA891088|GSE217409|GSE189021

7

Resistance mechanisms of tigecycline in Acinetobacter baumannii.

PMID 37228666 · 2023

The study identifies several efflux pumps, outer membrane permeability alterations, and antibiotic target modifications as key mechanisms of tigecycline resistance in Acinetobacter baumannii.

Gene Information

Gene Name: recA
Allele: recA
Encodes: DNA repair enzyme
Source Database: Reslit
Mechanism: DNA repair pathway
Confers Resistance To: Tigecycline
Organisms Tested In: • Acinetobacter baumannii
Validation Method: mutational analysis

8

Environmental resistome-guided development of resistance-tolerant antibiotics.

PMID 40388614 · 2025

The study identifies eight distinct resistance gene classes from the environmental resistome of albicidin, including AraC family proteins, HlyD family transporters, RecA recombinases, hydrolases, a MerR family protein, a pentapeptide repeat protein, a glutathione S-transferase-like protein, and a monooxygenase. These genes confer varying levels of resistance to albicidin through mechanisms such as efflux, degradation, sequestration, and modification.

Gene Information

Gene Name: recA
Allele: RecA
Encodes: recombinase
Source Database: Reslit
Confers Resistance To: Ciprofloxacin
Organisms Tested In: • Escherichia coli
Validation Method: selection on albicidin and MIC testing

9

Evaluating the predictive power of combined gene expression dynamics from single cells on antibiotic survival.

PMID 40391890 · 2025

The study identifies that increased expression of the gadX gene correlates with ciprofloxacin survival in E. coli, while growth rate has a negative impact on survival. The recA gene's expression also influences survival, but to a lesser extent.

Gene Information

Gene Name: recA
Allele: recA
Encodes: DNA repair protein
Source Database: Reslit
Mechanism: stress response
Confers Resistance To: Ciprofloxacin
Organisms Tested In: • Escherichia coli
Validation Method: fluorescent reporters and time-lapse microscopy

10

Genomic epidemiological analysis reveals new insights into the resurgence of Mycoplasma pneumoniae in China.

PMID 41278482 · 2025

The study identifies the A2063G mutation in the 23S rRNA gene as a key determinant of macrolide resistance in Mycoplasma pneumoniae strains in Beijing. Additionally, various mutations in genes associated with genome stability, transcription, translation, and virulence were found to be prevalent in Asian strains.

Gene Information

Gene Name: recA
Allele: recA
Encodes: recombination protein RecA
Source Database: Reslit
Mechanism: mutation
Organisms Tested In: • Mycoplasma pneumoniae
Geographic Location: China
Validation Method: genomic analysis
Sequence Accession: NC_000912.1|NZ_CP010546.1