scholarly journals Duplication of Teichoic Acid Biosynthetic Genes in Staphylococcus aureus Leads to Functionally Redundant Poly(Ribitol Phosphate) Polymerases

2008 ◽  
Vol 190 (16) ◽  
pp. 5642-5649 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark P. Pereira ◽  
Michael A. D'Elia ◽  
Justyna Troczynska ◽  
Eric D. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Staphylococcus Aureus ◽  
Cell Wall ◽  
Teichoic Acid ◽  
Gene Clusters ◽  
Opportunistic Pathogen ◽  
Null Mutant ◽  
Wall Teichoic Acid ◽  
Rate Limiting Step ◽  
Wall Teichoic Acids

ABSTRACT Wall teichoic acids are anionic phosphate-rich polymers that are part of the complex meshwork of carbohydrates that make up the gram-positive cell wall. These polymers are essential to the proper rod-shaped morphology of Bacillus subtilis and have been shown to be an important virulence determinant in the nosocomial opportunistic pathogen Staphylococcus aureus. Together, sequence-based studies, in vitro experiments with biosynthetic proteins, and analyses of the chemical structure of wall teichoic acid have begun to shed considerable light on our understanding of the biogenesis of this polymer. Nevertheless, some paradoxes remain unresolved. One of these involves a putative duplication of genes linked to CDP-ribitol synthesis (tarI′J′ and tarIJ) as well as poly(ribitol phosphate) polymerization (tarK and tarL) in S. aureus. In the work reported here, we performed careful studies of the dispensability of each gene and discovered a functional redundancy in the duplicated gene clusters. We were able to create mutants in either of the putative ribitol phosphate polymerases (encoded by tarK and tarL) without affecting teichoic acid levels in the S. aureus cell wall. Although genes linked to CDP-ribitol synthesis are also duplicated, a null mutant in only one of these (tarI′J′) could be obtained, while tarIJ remained essential. Suppression analysis of the tarIJ null mutant indicated that the mechanism of dysfunction in tarI′J′ is due to poor translation of the TarJ′ enzyme, which catalyzes the rate-limiting step in CDP-ribitol formation. This work provides new insights into understanding the complex synthetic steps of the ribitol phosphate polymer in S. aureus and has implications on specifically targeting enzymes involved in polymer biosynthesis for antimicrobial design.

scholarly journals YycH and YycI Regulate Expression of Staphylococcus aureus Autolysins by Activation of WalRK Phosphorylation

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 870
Author(s):  
Mike Gajdiss ◽  
Ian R. Monk ◽  
Ute Bertsche ◽  
Janina Kienemund ◽  
Tanja Funk ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Staphylococcus Aureus ◽  
Cell Wall ◽  
Teichoic Acid ◽  
Regulatory System ◽  
Regulatory Function ◽  
Wall Teichoic Acid ◽  
Dependent Cell ◽  
Severe Infections

Staphylococcus aureus is a facultative pathogen that can encode numerous antibiotic resistance and immune evasion genes and can cause severe infections. Reduced susceptibility to last resort antibiotics such as vancomycin and daptomycin is often associated with mutations in walRK, an essential two-component regulatory system (TCS). This study focuses on the WalK accessory membrane proteins YycH and YycI and their influence on WalRK phosphorylation. Depletion of YycH and YycI by antisense RNA caused an impaired autolysis, indicating a positive regulatory function on WalK as has been previously described. Phosphorylation assays with full-length recombinant proteins in phospholipid liposomes showed that YycH and YycI stimulate WalK activity and that both regulatory proteins are needed for full activation of the WalK kinase. This was validated in vivo through examining the phosphorylation status of WalR using Phos-tag SDS-PAGE with a yycHI deletion mutant exhibiting reduced levels of phosphorylated WalR. In the yycHI knockdown strain, muropeptide composition of the cell wall was not affected, however, the wall teichoic acid content was increased. In conclusion, a direct modulation of WalRK phosphorylation activity by the accessory proteins YycH and YycI is reported both in vitro and in vivo. Taken together, our results show that YycH and YycI are important in the direct regulation of WalRK-dependent cell wall metabolism.

scholarly journals The impact of Staphylococcus aureus cell wall glycosylation on langerin recognition and Langerhans cell activation

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Hendriks ◽  
R van Dalen ◽  
S Ali ◽  
D Gerlach ◽  
GA van der Marel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Staphylococcus Aureus ◽  
Cell Wall ◽  
Cell Activation ◽  
Teichoic Acid ◽  
Binding Studies ◽  
Wall Teichoic Acid ◽  
Linkage Position ◽  
Antigen Presenting ◽  
The Impact

AbstractStaphylococcus aureus is the leading cause of skin and soft tissue infections. It remains incompletely understood how skin-resident immune cells respond to S. aureus invasion and contribute to an effective immune response. Langerhans cells (LCs), the only professional antigen-presenting cell type in the epidermis, sense S. aureus through their pattern-recognition receptor langerin, triggering a pro-inflammatory response. Langerin specifically recognizes the β-1,4-linked N-acetylglucosamine (β-GlcNAc) modification, which requires the glycosyltransferase TarS, on the cell wall glycopolymer Wall Teichoic Acid (WTA). Recently, an alternative WTA glycosyltransferase, TarP, was identified in methicillin-resistant S. aureus strains belonging to clonal complexes (CC) 5 and CC398. TarP also modifies WTA with β-GlcNAc but at the C-3 position of the WTA ribitol phosphate (RboP) subunit. Here, we aimed to unravel the impact of β-GlcNAc linkage position for langerin binding and LC activation. In addition, we performed structure-binding studies using a small panel of unique chemically-synthesized WTA molecules to assess langerin-WTA binding requirements. Using FITC-labeled recombinant human langerin and genetically-modified S. aureus strains, we observed that langerin similarly recognized bacteria that produce either TarS- or TarP-modified WTA. Furthermore, using chemically-synthesized WTA, representative of the different S. aureus WTA glycosylation patterns, established that β-GlcNAc is sufficient to confer langerin binding. Functionally, tarP-expressing S. aureus induce increased cytokine production and maturation of in vitro-generated LCs compared to tarSexpressing S. aureus. Overall, our data suggest that LCs are able to sense all β-GlcNAc-WTA producing S. aureus strains, likely performing an important role as first responders upon S. aureus skin invasion.

scholarly journals Wall Teichoic Acid Deficiency in Staphylococcus aureus Confers Selective Resistance to Mammalian Group IIA Phospholipase A2 and Human β-Defensin 3

2008 ◽  
Vol 76 (5) ◽  
pp. 2169-2176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomaz Koprivnjak ◽  
Christopher Weidenmaier ◽  
Andreas Peschel ◽  
Jerrold P. Weiss
Keyword(s):  
Staphylococcus Aureus ◽  
Cell Wall ◽  
Electrostatic Interactions ◽  
Bacterial Resistance ◽  
Teichoic Acid ◽  
Host Cells ◽  
Wall Teichoic Acid ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Magainin Ii ◽  
Wall Teichoic Acids

ABSTRACT Wall teichoic acids (WTAs) and membrane lipoteichoic acids (LTAs) are the major polyanionic polymers in the envelope of Staphylococcus aureus. WTAs in S. aureus play an important role in bacteriophage attachment and bacterial adherence to certain host cells, suggesting that WTAs are exposed on the cell surface and could also provide necessary binding sites for cationic antimicrobial peptides and proteins (CAMPs). Highly cationic mammalian group IIA phospholipase A2 (gIIA PLA2) kills S. aureus at nanomolar concentrations by an action(s) that depends on initial electrostatic interactions, cell wall penetration, membrane phospholipid (PL) degradation, and activation of autolysins. A tagO mutant of S. aureus that lacks WTA is up to 100-fold more resistant to PL degradation and killing by gIIA PLA2 and CAMP human β-defensin 3 (HBD-3) but has the sensitivity of the wild type (wt) to other CAMPs, such as Magainin II amide, hNP1-3, LL-37, and lactoferrin. In contrast, there is little or no difference in either gIIA PLA2 activity toward cell wall-depleted protoplasts of the wt and tagO strains of S. aureus or in binding of gIIA PLA2 to wt and tagO strains. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy reveal increased surface protrusions in the S. aureus tagO mutant that might account for reduced activity of bound gIIA PLA2 and HBD-3 toward the tagO mutant. In summary, the absence of WTA in S. aureus causes a selective increase in bacterial resistance to gIIA PLA2 and HBD-3, the former apparently by reducing access and/or activity of bound antibacterial enzyme to the bacterial membrane.

scholarly journals An Antibiotic That Inhibits a Late Step in Wall Teichoic Acid Biosynthesis Induces the Cell Wall Stress Stimulon in Staphylococcus aureus

2012 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
pp. 1810-1820 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Campbell ◽  
Atul K. Singh ◽  
Jonathan G. Swoboda ◽  
Michael S. Gilmore ◽  
Brian J. Wilkinson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Staphylococcus Aureus ◽  
Cell Wall ◽  
Osmotic Stress ◽  
Late Stage ◽  
Teichoic Acid ◽  
Wall Stress ◽  
Wall Teichoic Acid ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cell Wall Stress

ABSTRACTWall teichoic acids (WTAs) are phosphate-rich, sugar-based polymers attached to the cell walls of most Gram-positive bacteria. InStaphylococcus aureus, these anionic polymers regulate cell division, protect cells from osmotic stress, mediate host colonization, and mask enzymatically susceptible peptidoglycan bonds. Although WTAs are not required for survivalin vitro, blocking the pathway at a late stage of synthesis is lethal. We recently discovered a novel antibiotic, targocil, that inhibits a late acting step in the WTA pathway. Its target is TarG, the transmembrane component of the ABC transporter (TarGH) that exports WTAs to the cell surface. We examined here the effects of targocil onS. aureususing transmission electron microscopy and gene expression profiling. We report that targocil treatment leads to multicellular clusters containing swollen cells displaying evidence of osmotic stress, strongly induces the cell wall stress stimulon, and reduces the expression of key virulence genes, includingdltABCDand capsule genes. We conclude that WTA inhibitors that act at a late stage of the biosynthetic pathway may be useful as antibiotics, and we present evidence that they could be particularly useful in combination with beta-lactams.

scholarly journals Glycosylation of Staphylococcus aureus cell wall teichoic acid is influenced by environmental conditions

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Noëlle Mistretta ◽  
Marina Brossaud ◽  
Fabienne Telles ◽  
Violette Sanchez ◽  
Philippe Talaga ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Staphylococcus Aureus ◽  
Cell Wall ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Teichoic Acid ◽  
Wall Teichoic Acid

scholarly journals Wall Teichoic Acid Protects Staphylococcus aureus against Antimicrobial Fatty Acids from Human Skin

2009 ◽  
Vol 191 (13) ◽  
pp. 4482-4484 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Kohler ◽  
Christopher Weidenmaier ◽  
Andreas Peschel
Keyword(s):  
Fatty Acids ◽  
Staphylococcus Aureus ◽  
Fatty Acid ◽  
Teichoic Acid ◽  
Sebaceous Glands ◽  
Wall Teichoic Acid ◽  
Fatty Acid Binding ◽  
Gram Positive Bacteria ◽  
Skin Colonization ◽  
Wall Teichoic Acids

ABSTRACT Skin-colonizing gram-positive bacteria produce wall teichoic acids (WTAs) or related glycopolymers for unclear reasons. Using a WTA-deficient Staphylococcus aureus mutant, we demonstrated that WTA confers resistance to antimicrobial fatty acids from human sebaceous glands by preventing fatty acid binding. Thus, WTA is probably important for bacterial skin colonization.

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