Staphylococcus aureus Coordinates Leukocidin Expression and Pathogenesis by Sensing Metabolic Fluxes via RpiRc.

ABSTRACT: Staphylococcus aureus is a formidable human pathogen that uses secreted cytolytic factors to injure immune cells and promote infection of its host. Of these proteins, the bicomponent family of pore-forming leukocidins play critical roles in S. aureus pathogenesis. The regulatory mechanisms governing the expression of these toxins are incompletely defined. In this work, we performed a screen to identify transcriptional regulators involved in leukocidin expression in S. aureus strain USA300. We discovered that a metabolic sensor-regulator, RpiRc, is a potent and selective repressor of two leukocidins, LukED and LukSF-PV. Whole-genome transcriptomics, S. aureus exoprotein proteomics, and metabolomic analyses revealed that RpiRc influences the expression and production of disparate virulence f

SUBMITTER: Balasubramanian D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4916384 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature