Project description:Several methicillin resistance (SCCmec) clusters characteristic of hospital-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains harbor the psm-mec locus. In addition to encoding the cytolysin, phenol-soluble modulin (PSM) mec, this locus has been attributed gene regulatory functions. Here we employed genome-wide transcriptional profiling to define the regulatory function of the psm-mec locus. The immune evasion factor protein A emerged as the primary conserved and strongly regulated target of psm-mec, an effect we show is mediated by the psm-mec RNA. Furthermore, the psm-mec locus exerted regulatory effects that were more moderate in extent and possibly mediated by the PSM-mec peptide. For example, expression of PSM-mec limited expression of mecA, thereby decreasing methicillin resistance. Our study shows that the psm-mec locus has a rare dual regulatory RNA and encoded cytolysin function, both with the potential to enhance MRSA virulence. Furthermore, our findings reveal a specific mechanism underscoring the recently emerging concept that S. aureus strains balance pronounced virulence and high expression of antibiotic resistance.
Project description:We present a draft genome assembly that includes 200 Gb of Illumina reads, 4 Gb of Moleculo synthetic long-reads and 108 Gb of Chicago libraries, with a final size matching the estimated genome size of 2.7 Gb, and a scaffold N50 of 4.8 Mb. We also present an alternative assembly including 27 Gb raw reads generated using the Pacific Biosciences platform. In addition, we sequenced the proteome of the same individual and RNA from three different tissue types from three other species of squid species (Onychoteuthis banksii, Dosidicus gigas, and Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis) to assist genome annotation. We annotated 33,406 protein coding genes supported by evidence and the genome completeness estimated by BUSCO reached 92%. Repetitive regions cover 49.17% of the genome.
