Rapid cell division of Staphylococcus aureus during colonization of the human nose.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Staphylococcus aureus is an important opportunistic pathogen and a commensal bacterium, thriving in the nasal cavities of 20% of the human population. Little is known about the dynamics of asymptomatic colonization and the occasional transition to infectious disease.

Results

In this study, we inferred that S. aureus cells replicate every one to three hours on average while colonizing the human nose, based on two independent lines of genomic evidence. First, we collected nasal swab samples from human subjects, extracted and sequenced metagenomic DNA, and analyzed the distribution of sequencing coverage along the staphylococcal chromosome. Calibration of this data by comparison to a laboratory culture enabled measuring S. aureus cell division rates in nasal samples.

SUBMITTER: Szafranska AK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6425579 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature