Inactivation of the response regulator AgrA has a pleiotropic effect on biofilm formation, pathogenesis and stress response in Staphylococcus lugdunensis

ABSTRACT: Staphylococcus lugdunensis is a coagulase-negative Staphylococcus that emerges as an important opportunistic pathogen. However, little is known about the regulation underlying the transition from commensal to virulent state. Based on knowledge of S. aureus virulence, we suspected that the agr quorum sensing system may be an important determinant for the pathogenicity of S. lugdunensis. We investigated the functions of the transcriptional regulator AgrA using the agrA deletion mutant. AgrA played a role in cell pigmentation: ∆argA mutant colonies were white while the parental strains were slightly yellow. Compared to the wild-type strain, the ∆argA mutant was affected in its ability to form biofilm and was less able to survive in mice macrophages. Moreover, the growth of ∆agrA was significantly reduced by the addition of 10 % NaCl or 0.4 mM H2O2 and its survival after 2 h in presence of 1 mM H2O2 was more than 10-fold reduced. To explore the mechanisms involved beyond these phenotypes, the ∆agrA proteome and transcriptome were characterized by mass spectrometry and RNA-Seq. We found that AgrA controlled several virulence factors as well as stress-response factors, which are well correlated with the reduced resistance of the ∆agrA mutant to osmotic and oxidative stresses. These results were not the consequence of the deregulation of RNAIII of the agr system, since no phenotype or alteration of the proteomic profile has been observed for the ∆RNAIII mutant. Altogether, our results highlighted that the AgrA regulator of S. lugdunensis played a key role in its ability to become pathogenic.

INSTRUMENT(S): timsTOF Pro

ORGANISM(S): Staphylococcus Lugdunensis

SUBMITTER: benoit bernay  

LAB HEAD: Benoit Bernay

PROVIDER: PXD028347 | Pride | 2022-02-22

REPOSITORIES: Pride