Functionality and cross-regulation of the four SprG/SprF type I toxin-antitoxin systems in Staphylococcus aureus.

ABSTRACT: Toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems are ubiquitous among bacteria, frequently expressed in multiple copies, and important for functions such as antibiotic resistance and persistence. Type I TA systems are composed of a stable toxic peptide whose expression is repressed by an unstable RNA antitoxin. Here, we investigated the functionalities, regulation, and possible cross-talk between three core genome copies of the pathogenicity island-encoded 'sprG1/sprF1' type I TA system in the human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus. Except for SprG4, all RNA from these pairs, sprG2/sprF2, sprG3/sprF3, sprG4/sprF4, are expressed in the HG003 strain. SprG2 and SprG3 RNAs encode toxic peptides whose overexpression triggers bacteriostasis, which is counteracted at the RNA level by the overexpression of SprF2 and Sp

SUBMITTER: Riffaud C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6393307 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature