Role of the accessory gene regulator agr in community-associated MRSA pathogenesis
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ABSTRACT: The success of community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) as pathogens is due to a combination of antibiotic resistance with high virulence. However, evolution of the exceptional virulence potential of CA-MRSA is not understood. Our previous study indicated that differential gene expression contributes substantially to this process. Thus, we here investigated the role of the pivotal virulence gene regulatory system agr in the most prevalent CA-MRSA strain USA300. Using a mouse subcutaneous infection model, we show that agr is essential for the development of CA-MRSA skin infections, the most frequent manifestation of disease caused by CA-MRSA. Furthermore, genome-wide analysis of gene expression revealed significant differences in agr-dependent virulence gene regulation between CA-MRSA, HA-MRSA, and laboratory strains. Our findings demonstrate that agr functionality is critical for CA-MRSA disease and indicate that an adaptation of the agr regulon to optimize expression of a broad set of virulence determinants may have contributed to the evolution of exceptionally pronounced virulence of CA-MRSA strains. Keywords: wild type vs mutant
ORGANISM(S): Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus USA300 Staphylococcus aureus
PROVIDER: GSE18793 | GEO | 2011/03/29
SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA121197
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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