The study of new antimicrobial compounds includes determining the mechanism of their effect on the microbial cell. As a rule, the effect of most modern synthetic antimicrobials is associated either with the suppression of DNA synthesis, or with the suppression of bacterial protein synthesis at the level of translation or transcription.There are sensitive and simple methods for screening and monitoring the potential genotoxic activity of a wide range of natural and synthetic compounds. To date, the Ames test has been widely used, based on the sensitivity of Salmonella strains to carcinogenic chemicals, although some compounds that cause Ames negative reactions could actually be carcinogenic to animals.Similarly, the SOS chromotest is an SOS transcriptional analysis that can evaluate DNA damage caused by chemical and physical mutagens. It measures the expression of a reporter gene (β-galactosidase). The β-galactosidase enzyme processes ortho-nitrophenyl galactopyranoside to form a yellow compound detected at 420 nm. Then, the induction of β-galactosidase normalizes the activity of alkaline phosphatase, an enzyme expressed constitutively by Escherichia coli. SOS chromotest is also widely used for genotoxicological studies. The answer is quick (several hours) and does not require the survival of the test strain. Dose response curves for various chemicals include a linear region. The slope of this area is taken as a measure of SOS induction.Therefore, an SOS chromotest was selected for the study, which allows one to identify the DNA-mediated effect of the studied compounds.The aim of the work was to evaluate the SOS-inducing activity of antimicrobial compounds based on substituted 1H-indol-4-, 5-, 6-, 7-ylamines.The strain Escherichia coli PQ 37 with the genotype F-thr leu his-4 pyrD thi galE lacΔU169 srl300 :: Th10 rpoB rpsL uvrA rfa trp :: Mis + sfi A :: Mud (Ar, lac) cts, Due to the presence of sfi A genes :: lac Z, lacZ β-galactosidase gene expression in strain PQ 37 is controlled by the promoter of the sfiA gene, one of the components of the E. coli SOS regulon. The indicator of the SOS-inducing activity of the studied compounds in the SOS chromotest is the activity of β-galactosidase, which evaluates the activity of active microorganisms - alkaline phosphatase, which also allows you to control the toxic effect of the studied compounds on bacterial cells.The results showed that 4,4,4-trifluoro-N-(6-methoxy-1,2,3-trimethyl-1H-indol-5-yl)-3-oxobutanamide (1), 4,4,4-trifluoro-N-(6-methyl-2-phenyl-1H-indol-5-yl)-3-oxobutanamide (2) and N-(1,5-dimethyl-2-phenyl-1H-indol-6-yl)-4,4,4-trifluoro-3-oxobutanamide (3) does not possess SOS-inducing activity in the studied concentrations. 4-Hydroxy-8-phenyl-4-(trifluoromethyl)-1,3,4,7-tetrahydro-2H-pyrrolo [2,3-h] -quinolin-2-one (4), 9-hydroxy-5-methyl-2-phenyl-9-(trifluoromethyl)-1,6,8,9-tetrahydro-7Н-pyrrolo-[2,3-f]quinolin-7-one (5), 6-hydroxy-2,3-dimethyl-6-(trifluoromethyl)-1,6,7,9-tetrahydro-8H-pyrrolo[3,2-h]quinolin-8-one (6) and 1,2,3,9-tetramethyl-6-(trifluoromethyl)-1,9-dihydro-8H-pyrrolo [3,2-h]quinolin-8-one (7) showed dose-dependent SOS-inducing activity in bactericidal concentrations. The obtained research results allowed us to identify compounds 4, 5, 6, 7, the mechanism of action of which includes exposure to DNA of a microbial cell.
