Staphylococcus aureus Colonization of the Mouse Gastrointestinal Tract Is Modulated by Wall Teichoic Acid, Capsule, and Surface Proteins.

ABSTRACT: Staphylococcus aureus colonizes the nose, throat, skin, and gastrointestinal (GI) tract of humans. GI carriage of S. aureus is difficult to eradicate and has been shown to facilitate the transmission of the bacterium among individuals. Although staphylococcal colonization of the GI tract is asymptomatic, it increases the likelihood of infection, particularly skin and soft tissue infections caused by USA300 isolates. We established a mouse model of persistent S. aureus GI colonization and characterized the impact of selected surface antigens on colonization. In competition experiments, an acapsular mutant colonized better than the parental strain Newman, whereas mutants defective in sortase A and clumping factor A showed impaired ability to colonize the GI tract. Mutants lacking protein A,

SUBMITTER: Misawa Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4511793 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature