The Staphylococcus aureus non-coding RNA IsrR regulates TCA cycle activity and virulence.

ABSTRACT: Staphylococcus aureus has evolved mechanisms to cope with low iron (Fe) availability in host tissues. Staphylococcus aureus uses the ferric uptake transcriptional regulator (Fur) to sense titers of cytosolic Fe. Upon Fe depletion, apo-Fur relieves transcriptional repression of genes utilized for Fe uptake. We demonstrate that an S. aureus Δfur mutant has decreased expression of acnA, which codes for the Fe-dependent enzyme aconitase. This prevents the Δfur mutant from growing with amino acids as sole carbon and energy sources. We used a suppressor screen to exploit this phenotype and determined that a mutation that decreases the transcription of isrR, which produces a regulatory RNA, increased acnA expression, thereby enabling growth. Directed mutation of bases predicted to facilitate the

SUBMITTER: Rios-Delgado G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11879123 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature