Disruption of Phosphate Homeostasis Sensitizes Staphylococcus aureus to Nutritional Immunity.

ABSTRACT: To control infection, mammals actively withhold essential nutrients, including the transition metal manganese, by a process termed nutritional immunity. A critical component of this host response is the manganese-chelating protein calprotectin. While many bacterial mechanisms for overcoming nutritional immunity have been identified, the intersection between metal starvation and other essential inorganic nutrients has not been investigated. Here, we report that overexpression of an operon encoding a highly conserved inorganic phosphate importer, PstSCAB, increases the sensitivity of Staphylococcus aureus to calprotectin-mediated manganese sequestration. Further analysis revealed that overexpression of pstSCAB does not disrupt manganese acquisition or result in overaccumulation of phosphate

SUBMITTER: Kelliher JL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7240092 | biostudies-literature | 2020 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature