Unlike E. coli, Streptococcus pneumoniae lacks the capacity to mount an SOS response (p. 373). Prudhomme and colleagues tested to see if transformation might be an alternative response to DNA damage. To do this, they treated S. pneumoniae with the drug mitomycin C, which blocks the replication fork, thereby generating a region of single-stranded DNA to which the protein RecA binds. They discovered that transformation in S. pneumoniae was indeed induced by mitomycin C exposure. They then tested an assortment of antibiotics that are known to trigger the SOS response in E. coli for their ability to induce transformation in S. pneumoniae. They found that some but not all of the antibiotics resulted in S. pneumoniae transformation.

Why do you think S. pneumoniae responds to certain stresses by genetic transformation? Do you think the discovery that certain antibiotics trigger transformation in this pathogen should be considered when prescribing antibiotics currently used and designing new drugs? If so, explain why and how.