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Journal of Bacteriology, December 2009, p. 7306-7314, Vol. 191, No. 23
0021-9193/09/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/JB.00630-09
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
A Point Mutation in the Sensor Histidine Kinase SaeS of Staphylococcus aureus Strain Newman Alters the Response to Biocide Exposure
,
Daniel Schäfer,1
Thiên-Trí Lâm,1
Tobias Geiger,2
Markus Mainiero,2
Susanne Engelmann,3
Muzaffar Hussain,4
Armin Bosserhoff,5
Matthias Frosch,1
Markus Bischoff,6
Christiane Wolz,2
Joachim Reidl,7 and
Bhanu Sinha1*
Institute of Hygiene and Microbiology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany,1 Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany,2 Institute of Microbiology, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany,3 Institute of Medical Microbiology, University Hospital of Münster, Münster, Germany,4 Centre of Molecular Biology, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany,5 Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, University Hospital of Saarland, Saarland, Germany,6 Institute of Molecular Biosciences, University of Graz, Graz, Germany7
Received 13 May 2009/ Accepted 16 September 2009
Staphylococcus aureus reacts to changing environmental conditions such as heat, pH, and chemicals through global regulators such as the sae (S. aureus exoprotein expression) two-component signaling system. Subinhibitory concentrations of some antibiotics were shown to increase virulence factor expression. Here, we investigated the S. aureus stress response to sublethal concentrations of a commonly used biocide (Perform), by real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR), promoter activity assay, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and a flow cytometric invasion assay. Perform, acting through the production of reactive oxygen species, generally downregulated expression of extracellular proteins in strains 6850, COL, ISP479C but upregulated these proteins in strain Newman. Upregulated proteins were sae dependent. The Perform component SDS, but not paraquat (another oxygen donor), mimicked the biocide effect. Eap (extracellular adherence protein) was most prominently augmented. Upregulation of eap and sae was confirmed by qRT-PCR. Promoter activity of sae P1 was increased by Perform and SDS. Both substances enhanced cellular invasiveness, by 2.5-fold and 3.2-fold, respectively. Increased invasiveness was dependent on Eap and the sae system, whereas agr, sarA, sigB, and fibronectin-binding proteins had no major effect in strain Newman. This unique response pattern was due to a point mutation in SaeS (the sensor histidine kinase), as demonstrated by allele swapping. Newman saePQRSISP479C behaved like ISP479C, whereas saePQRSNewman rendered ISP479C equally responsive as Newman. Taken together, the findings indicate that a point mutation in SaeS of strain Newman was responsible for increased expression of Eap upon exposure to sublethal Perform and SDS concentrations, leading to increased Eap-dependent cellular invasiveness. This may be important for understanding the regulation of virulence in S. aureus.
* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Institute of Hygiene and Microbiology, University of Würzburg, Josef-Schneider-Str. 2, Bldg. E1, 97080 Würzburg, Germany. Phone: 49-931-201-46949. Fax: 49-931-201-46445. E-mail: bsinha{at}hygiene.uni-wuerzburg.de
Published ahead of print on 25 September 2009.
Supplemental material for this article may be found at http://jb.asm.org/.
Journal of Bacteriology, December 2009, p. 7306-7314, Vol. 191, No. 23
0021-9193/09/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/JB.00630-09
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
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