A Staphylococcus aureus clpX Mutant Used as a Unique Screening Tool to Identify Cell Wall Synthesis Inhibitors that Reverse β-Lactam Resistance in MRSA.

ABSTRACT: Staphylococcus aureus is a leading cause of bacterial infections world-wide. Staphylococcal infections are preferentially treated with β-lactam antibiotics, however, methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strains have acquired resistance to this superior class of antibiotics. We have developed a growth-based, high-throughput screening approach that directly identifies cell wall synthesis inhibitors capable of reversing β-lactam resistance in MRSA. The screen is based on the finding that S. aureus mutants lacking the ClpX chaperone grow very poorly at 30°C unless specific steps in teichoic acid synthesis or penicillin binding protein (PBP) activity are inhibited. This property allowed us to exploit the S. aureus clpX mutant as a unique screening too

SUBMITTER: Bæk KT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8212132 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature