Staphylococcus aureus Nuclease Is an SaeRS-Dependent Virulence Factor

Abstract

ABSTRACTSeveral prominent bacterial pathogens secrete nuclease (Nuc) enzymes that have an important role in combating the host immune response. Early studies ofStaphylococcus aureusNuc attributed its regulation to theagrquorum-sensing system. However, recent microarray data have indicated thatnucis under the control of the SaeRS two-component system, which is a major regulator ofS. aureusvirulence determinants. Here we report that thenucgene is directly controlled by the SaeRS two-component system through reporter fusion, immunoblotting, Nuc activity measurements, promoter mapping, and binding studies, and additionally, we were unable identify a notable regulatory link to theagrsystem. The observed SaeRS-dependent regulation was conserved across a wide spectrum of representativeS. aureusisolates. Moreover, with community-associated methicillin-resistantS. aureus(CA MRSA) in a mouse model of peritonitis, we observedin vivoexpression of Nuc activity in an SaeRS-dependent manner and determined that Nuc is a virulence factor that is important forin vivosurvival, confirming the enzyme's role as a contributor to invasive disease. Finally, natural polymorphisms were identified in the SaeRS proteins, one of which was linked to Nuc regulation in a CA MRSA USA300 endocarditis isolate. Altogether, our findings demonstrate that Nuc is an importantS. aureusvirulence factor and part of the SaeRS regulon.