The Spx stress regulator confers high-level β-lactam resistance and decreases susceptibility to last-line antibiotics in methicillin-resistant <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i>.

ABSTRACT: Infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are a leading cause of mortality worldwide. MRSA has acquired resistance to next-generation β-lactam antibiotics through the horizontal acquisition of the mecA resistance gene. Development of high resistance is, however, often associated with additional mutations in a set of chromosomal core genes, known as potentiators, which, through poorly described mechanisms, enhance resistance. The yjbH gene was recently identified as a hot spot for adaptive mutations during severe infections. Here, we show that inactivation of yjbH increased β-lactam MICs up to 16-fold and transformed MRSA cells with low levels of resistance to being homogenously highly resistant to β-lactams. The yjbH gene enc

SUBMITTER: Nielsen TK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11620516 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature