Strains of Staphylococcus aureus that Colonize and Infect Skin Harbor Mutations in Metabolic Genes.

ABSTRACT: Staphylococcus aureus is the most common cause of skin and soft tissue infections, yet the bacterial genetic changes associated with adaptation to human skin are not well characterized. S. aureus strains isolated from patients with chronic skin colonization and intermittent infection were used to determine the staphylococcal genotypes or phenotypes associated with adaptation to human skin. We demonstrate that polymorphisms in metabolic genes, particularly those involved in the tricarboxylic acid cycle, the fumarate-succinate axis, and the generation of terminal electron transporters, are unexpectedly common. These skin-adapted strains activated glycolysis and hypoxia-inducible factor-1α, interleukin (IL)-1β, and IL-18 release from keratinocytes and promoted dermatopathology equivalent to a

SUBMITTER: Acker KP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6700416 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature