Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-9-2010
Publication Title
Infection and Immunity
Department
Geisel School of Medicine
Abstract
The expression of virulence factors in Staphylococcus aureus is tightly coordinated by a vast network of regulatory molecules. In this report, we characterize a genetic locus unique to staphylococci called rsr that has a role in repressing two key virulence regulators, sarR and agr. Using strain SH1000, we showed that the transcription of virulence effectors, such as hla, sspA, and spa, is altered in an rsr mutant in a way consistent with agr upregulation. Analysis of RNAIII expression of the agr locus in rsr and rsr-sarR mutants indicated that rsr likely contributes to agr expression independently of SarR. We also provide evidence using a murine model of S. aureus skin infection that the effects mediated by rsr reduce disease progression.
DOI
10.1128/IAI.00401-10
Dartmouth Digital Commons Citation
Tamber, Sandeep; Reyes, Dindo; Donegan, Niles P.; Schwartzman, Joseph D.; Cheung, Ambrose L.; and Memmi, Guido, "The Staphylococcus-Specific Gene rsr Represses agr and Virulence in Staphylococcus aureus" (2010). Dartmouth Scholarship. 929.
https://digitalcommons.dartmouth.edu/facoa/929
