Project description:The transcription level of a rex-deficient S. aureus mutant in comparison to its parental strain S. aureus SH1000 was analyzed using DNA microarrays.
Project description:An important lesson from the war on pathogenic bacteria has been the need to understand the physiological responses and evolution of natural microbial communities. Bacterial populations in the environment are generally forming biofilms subject to some level of phage predation. These multicellular communities are notoriously resistant to antimicrobials and, consequently, very difficult to eradicate. This has sparked the search for new therapeutic alternatives, including phage therapy. This study demonstrates that S. aureus biofilms formed in the presence of a non-lethal dose of phage phiIPLA-RODI exhibit a unique physiological state that could potentially benefit both the host and the predator. Thus, biofilms formed under phage pressure are thicker and have a greater DNA content. Also, the virus-infected biofilm displayed major transcriptional differences compared to an untreated control. Significantly, RNA-seq data revealed activation of the stringent response, which could slow down the advance of the bacteriophage within the biofilm. The end result would be an equilibrium that would help bacterial cells to withstand environmental challenges, while maintaining a reservoir of sensitive bacterial cells available to the phage upon reactivation of the dormant carrier population.
Project description:Young adult fer-15;fem-1 Caenorhabditis elegans were infected with Staphylococcus aureus for 8 h to determine the transcriptional host response to Staphylococcus aureus. Analysis of differential gene expression in C. elegans young adults exposed to two different bacteria: E. coli strain OP50 (control), wild-type Staphylococcus aureus RN6390. Samples were analyzed at 8 hours after exposure to the different bacteria. These studies identified C. elegans genes induced by pathogen infection. Keywords: response to pathogen infection, innate immunity, host-pathogen interactions
Project description:The WalKR regulon was studied by comparing genes expression in a strain producing a constitutively active WalR regulator (WalRc) versus the wild type strain carrying the empty expression vector. Hybridizations were performed with three independent biological replicates. Our data allowed to identify 165 genes differentially expressed in the walRc expressing strain with a P-value ≤ 0.05 using Z-test and a threshold value of two-fold change in transcriptional levels. Among them, 108 genes are activated, and 57 genes are repressed. About 10% of these results were confirmed by quantitative real time PCR, revealing the high reliability of this overall study. Beyond the major effect of the WalKR system on genes expressing cell wall hydrolases, we have shown that it activates a large number of genes involved in virulence, and probably through its positive impact on the SaeRS two-component system, is a major activator of S. aureus virulence.
Project description:In this study we investigated the transcriptional responses of keratinocyte-derived IκBζ (encoded by NFKBIZ) upon infection with the pathogenic Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) USA300 wildtype strain.
Project description:Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections result in more than 200,000 hospitalizations and 10,000 deaths in the United States each year and remain an important medical challenge. To better understand the transcriptome of Staphylococcus aureus USA300 NRS384, a community-acquired MRSA strain, we have conducted an RNA-Seq experiment on WT samples.
Project description:Investigation of mRNA expression level changes in a Staphylococcus aureus Mu50 delta-SAV1322 mutant, compared to the wild-type strain. A comparison of the wild-type and the mutant transcription profiles
Project description:Accurate annotation of regulatory RNAs is a complex task but nevertheless essential as sRNA molecular and functional studies ensue from it. Several formerly considered small RNAs (sRNA) are now known to be parts of UTR transcripts. In light of experimental data, we review hundreds of Staphylococcus aureus putative regulatory RNAs. We pinpoint those that are likely acting in trans and are not expressed from the opposite strand of a coding gene. We conclude that HG003, a NCTC8325 derivative strain, has about 50 bona fide sRNAs, indicating that these RNAs are less numerous than commonly stated.
Project description:Staphylococcus aureus is an important human pathogen causing skin infection and many serious diseases such as pneumonia, sepsis, and toxic shock syndrome. In the bacterium, the membrane-bound protease FtsH plays important roles in the bacterial resistance to various stresses. This study was initiated to explain the strain-specific aggregation of the ftsH-deletion mutant of the Newman strain. To understand the molecular basis of the phenotype, we identified FtsH substrate proteins by comparing the protein contents of two different strains, Newman and USA300, and found that, in the strain Newman, a single nucleotide change in the sensor histidine kinase saeS gene placed the SaeRS two-component system under the control of FtsH, leading to the strain-specific cell-aggregation phenotype. Not only does our study provide a new methodology for protease-substrate determination but it also demonstrates that even a single nucleotide polymorphism can rewire bacterial regulatory network, resulting in a strain-specific phenotype. Our study shows the pitfall of making sweeping conclusion based on experimental results from a single bacterial strain.
Project description:We report the condition-dependent transcriptome of S. aureus HG001, a derivative of strain NCTC 8325, by strand-specific tiling array hybridizations. More than 40 experimental conditions were investigated ranging from optimal in vitro growth to interaction with host cells. Analyses included the systematic mapping of transcription units, annotation of non-coding RNAs, the classification of promoters according to their dependency on SigA and SigB, and the prediction of potentially new transcription factor target sites. Antisense RNAs being of particular interest because of the small number of alternative sigma factors used by S. aureus were found to be relatively rare, overlapping only 6% of the annotated coding genes.