<i>Enterococcus faecium sagA</i> mutants have cell envelope defects influencing antibiotic resistance and bacteriophage susceptibility.

ABSTRACT: Enterococcus faecium is a gram-positive bacterium that is resident to the intestines of animals including humans. E. faecium is also an opportunistic pathogen that causes multidrug-resistant (MDR) infections. Bacteriophages (phages) have been proposed as therapeutics for the treatment of MDR infections; however, an obstacle for phage therapy is the emergence of phage resistance. Despite this, the development of phage resistance can impact bacterial fitness. Thus, understanding the molecular basis of fitness costs associated with phage resistance can likely be leveraged as an antimicrobial strategy. We discovered that phage-resistant E. faecium harbor mutations in the cell wall hydrolase gene sagA. SagA cleaves crosslinked peptidoglycan (PG) involved in PG remode

SUBMITTER: Arya G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12632251 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature