Dataset Information

Functional characterization of the sigmaB-dependent yabJ-spoVG operon in Staphylococcus aureus: role in methicillin and glycopeptide resistance.

ABSTRACT: The alternative sigma factor sigma(B) of Staphylococcus aureus controls the expression of multiple genes, including virulence determinants and global regulators; promotes capsule production; and increases the resistance levels of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and glycopeptide-intermediate-resistant S. aureus (GISA) strains. We show here that deletion of the sigma(B)-controlled yabJ-spoVG operon, which codes for potential downstream regulators of sigma(B), abolished capsule synthesis and reduced resistance in MRSA and GISA to the same extent that sigma(B) inactivation did. Introduction of the yabJ-spoVG operon in trans restored the original phenotype. By genetic manipulations, we show that SpoVG but not YabJ is required for complementation. We therefore postulate that SpoVG is the major factor of the yabJ-spoVG operon required in S. aureus for capsule formation and antibiotic resistance.

SUBMITTER: Schulthess B

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2681525 | biostudies-literature | 2009 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Functional characterization of the sigmaB-dependent yabJ-spoVG operon in Staphylococcus aureus: role in methicillin and glycopeptide resistance.

Schulthess Bettina B Meier Stefan S Homerova Dagmar D Goerke Christiane C Wolz Christiane C Kormanec Jan J Berger-Bächi Brigitte B Bischoff Markus M

Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy 20090217 5

The alternative sigma factor sigma(B) of Staphylococcus aureus controls the expression of multiple genes, including virulence determinants and global regulators; promotes capsule production; and increases the resistance levels of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and glycopeptide-intermediate-resistant S. aureus (GISA) strains. We show here that deletion of the sigma(B)-controlled yabJ-spoVG operon, which codes for potential downstream regulators of sigma(B), abolished capsule synthesis and ...[more]

PMID: 19223635

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Project description:The alternative sigma factor sigma(B) of Staphylococcus aureus controls the expression of a variety of genes, including virulence determinants and global regulators. Genetic manipulations and transcriptional start point (TSP) analyses showed that the sigB operon is transcribed from at least two differentially controlled promoters: a putative sigma(A)-dependent promoter, termed sigB(p1), giving rise to a 3.6-kb transcript covering sa2059-sa2058-rsbU-rsbV-rsbW-sigB, and a sigma(B)-dependent promoter, sigB(p3), initiating a 1.6-kb transcript covering rsbV-rsbW-sigB. TSP and promoter-reporter gene fusion experiments indicated that a third promoter, tentatively termed sigB(p2) and proposed to lead to a 2.5-kb transcript, including rsbU-rsbV-rsbW-sigB, might govern the expression of the sigB operon. Environmental stresses, such as heat shock and salt stress, induced a rapid response within minutes from promoters sigB(p1) and sigB(p3). In vitro, the sigB(p1) promoter was active in the early growth stages, while the sigB(p2) and sigB(p3) promoters produced transcripts throughout the growth cycle, with sigB(p3) peaking around the transition state between exponential growth and stationary phase. The amount of sigB transcripts, however, did not reflect the concentration of sigma(B) measured in cell extracts, which remained constant over the entire growth cycle. In a guinea pig cage model of infection, sigB transcripts were as abundant 2 and 8 days postinoculation as values found in vitro, demonstrating that sigB is indeed transcribed during the course of infection. Physical interactions between staphylococcal RsbU-RsbV, RsbV-RsbW, and RsbW-sigma(B) were inferred from a yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) two-hybrid approach, indicating the presence of a partner-switching mechanism in the sigma(B) activation cascade similar to that of Bacillus subtilis. The finding that overexpression of RsbU was sufficient to trigger an immediate and strong activation of sigma(B), however, signals a relevant difference in the regulation of sigma(B) activation between B. subtilis and S. aureus in the cascade upstream of RsbU.

Dataset Information

Functional characterization of the sigmaB-dependent yabJ-spoVG operon in Staphylococcus aureus: role in methicillin and glycopeptide resistance.

Publications

Functional characterization of the sigmaB-dependent yabJ-spoVG operon in Staphylococcus aureus: role in methicillin and glycopeptide resistance.

Similar Datasets

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