Affiliation:
1. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA
Abstract
β-Toxin is a sphingomyelinase hemolysin that significantly contributes to
Staphylococcus aureus
pathogenesis. In most
S. aureus
isolates the prophage ϕSa3int inserts into the β-toxin gene
hlb
, inactivating it, but human and experimental infections give rise to β-toxin-producing variants. However, it remained to be established whether ϕSa3mw excises in response to specific environmental cues, restoring the β-toxin gene sequence. This is not only of fundamental interest but also critical when designing intervention strategies and therapeutics. We provide evidence that ϕSa3mw actively excises, allowing the conditional expression of β-toxin. ϕSa3int prophages may play a novel and largely uncharacterized role in
S. aureus
pathogenesis as molecular regulatory switches that promote bacterial fitness and adaptation to the challenges presented by the mammalian host.
Funder
HHS | National Institutes of Health
American Heart Association
Publisher
American Society for Microbiology
Subject
Molecular Biology,Microbiology
Cited by
24 articles.
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