Staphylococcus lugdunensis Uses the Agr Regulatory System to Resist Killing by Host Innate Immune Effectors.

ABSTRACT: Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) are frequently commensal bacteria that rarely cause disease in mammals. Staphylococcus lugdunensis is an exceptional CoNS that causes disease in humans similar to virulent Staphylococcus aureus, but the factors that enhance the virulence of this bacterium remain ill defined. Here, we used random transposon insertion mutagenesis to identify the agr quorum sensing system as a regulator of hemolysins in S. lugdunensis. Using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), we revealed that agr regulates dozens of genes, including hemolytic S. lugdunensis synergistic hemolysins (SLUSH) peptides and the protease lugdulysin. A murine bacteremia model was used to show that mice infected systemically with wild-type S. lugd

SUBMITTER: Chin D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9584346 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature