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Journal of Bacteriology, December 2006, p. 8079-8086, Vol. 188, No. 23
0021-9193/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.00858-06
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Microevolution of Cytochrome bd Oxidase in Staphylococci and Its Implication in Resistance to Respiratory Toxins Released by Pseudomonas{dagger}

Lalitha Voggu,1 Steffen Schlag,1 Raja Biswas,1 Ralf Rosenstein,1 Christian Rausch,2 and Friedrich Götz1*

Microbial Genetics, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany,1 Algorithms in Bioinformatics, Wilhelm Schickard Institut für Informatik, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Sand 14, 72076 Tübingen, Germany2

Received 15 June 2006/ Accepted 24 June 2006

Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus are opportunistic pathogens and frequently coinfect the lungs of cystic fibrosis patients. P. aeruginosa secretes an arsenal of small respiratory inhibitors, like pyocyanin, hydrogen cyanide, or quinoline N-oxides, that may act against the commensal flora as well as host cells. Here, we show that with respect to their susceptibility to these respiratory inhibitors, staphylococcal species can be divided into two groups: the sensitive group, comprised of pathogenic species such as S. aureus and S. epidermidis, and the resistant group, represented by nonpathogenic species such as S. carnosus, S. piscifermentans, and S. gallinarum. The resistance in the latter group of species was due to cydAB genes that encode a pyocyanin- and cyanide-insensitive cytochrome bd quinol oxidase. By exchanging cydB in S. aureus with the S. carnosus-specific cydB, we could demonstrate that CydB determines resistance. The resistant or sensitive phenotype was based on structural alterations in CydB, which is part of CydAB, the cytochrome bd quinol oxidase. CydB represents a prime example of both microevolution and the asymmetric pattern of evolutionary change.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Mikrobielle Genetik, Universität Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 28, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany. Phone: (49) 7071 2974636. Fax: (49) 7071 295039. E-mail: friedrich.goetz{at}uni-tuebingen.de.

{dagger} Supplemental material for this article may be found at http://jb.asm.org/.

Journal of Bacteriology, December 2006, p. 8079-8086, Vol. 188, No. 23
0021-9193/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.00858-06
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Biswas, L., Biswas, R., Schlag, M., Bertram, R., Gotz, F. (2009). Small-Colony Variant Selection as a Survival Strategy for Staphylococcus aureus in the Presence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 75: 6910-6912 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Rosenstein, R., Nerz, C., Biswas, L., Resch, A., Raddatz, G., Schuster, S. C., Gotz, F. (2009). Genome Analysis of the Meat Starter Culture Bacterium Staphylococcus carnosus TM300. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 75: 811-822 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Quesada, A., Guijo, M. I., Merchan, F., Blazquez, B., Igeno, M. I., Blasco, R. (2007). Essential Role of Cytochrome bd-Related Oxidase in Cyanide Resistance of Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes CECT5344. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 73: 5118-5124 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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