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Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, May 2009, p. 1832-1839, Vol. 53, No. 5
0066-4804/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AAC.01255-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Functional Characterization of the {sigma}B-Dependent yabJ-spoVG Operon in Staphylococcus aureus: Role in Methicillin and Glycopeptide Resistance{triangledown}

Bettina Schulthess,1 Stefan Meier,1 Dagmar Homerova,2 Christiane Goerke,3 Christiane Wolz,3 Jan Kormanec,2 Brigitte Berger-Bächi,1* and Markus Bischoff4

Institute of Medical Microbiology, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland,1 Institute of Molecular Biology, Centre of Excellence for Molecular Medicine, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovak Republic,2 Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany,3 Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, University of Saarland Hospital, Homburg/Saar, Germany4

Received 19 September 2008/ Returned for modification 7 December 2008/ Accepted 31 January 2009

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.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Institute of Medical Microbiology, University of Zurich, Gloriastr. 32, 8006 Zurich, Switzerland. Phone: 41 44 634 26 50. Fax: 41 44 634 49 06. E-mail: bberger{at}imm.uzh.ch

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 17 February 2009.

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, May 2009, p. 1832-1839, Vol. 53, No. 5
0066-4804/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AAC.01255-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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