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Journal of Bacteriology, July 2006, p. 4861-4870, Vol. 188, No. 13
0021-9193/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.00194-06
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Spx Is a Global Effector Impacting Stress Tolerance and Biofilm Formation in Staphylococcus aureus

Sünje Johanna Pamp ,1,2,{dagger},{ddagger} Dorte Frees,1,{dagger}* Susanne Engelmann,2 Michael Hecker,2 and Hanne Ingmer1

Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University (KVL), Stigbøjlen 4, DK-1870 Frederiksberg C, Denmark,1 Institut für Mikrobiologie, Ernst Moritz Arndt Universität, 17487 Greifswald, Germany2

Received 6 February 2006/ Accepted 12 April 2006

In Bacillus subtilis, Spx was recently characterized as a novel type of global regulator whose activity is regulated by the redox status of the cells. In the present study, we demonstrate that inactivation of Spx in the important pathogen Staphylococcus aureus renders the cells hypersensitive to a wide range of stress conditions including high and low temperature, high osmolarity, and hydrogen peroxide. Moreover, growth was restricted under nonstress conditions. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis revealed that the proteome of the spx mutant differs substantially from the proteome of wild-type cells, supporting the finding that Spx is also a global regulator in S. aureus. More specifically, we demonstrated that Spx is required for transcription of trxB, encoding thioredoxin reductase, under all growth conditions examined. As trxB is essential in S. aureus, we speculate that the severely reduced trxB transcription could account for some of the growth defects of the spx mutant. Inactivation of spx also enhanced biofilm formation. S. aureus biofilm formation is associated with the production of the polysaccharide intercellular adhesin encoded by the ica operon. Interestingly, our data indicate that the augmented capacity of the spx mutant to form biofilms is due to Spx modulating the expression of icaR, encoding a repressor of the structural ica genes (icaABCD). In summary, we conclude that Spx fulfills an important role for growth, general stress protection, and biofilm formation in S. aureus.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University (KVL), Stigbøjlen 4, DK-1870 Frederiksberg C, Denmark. Phone: (45) 3528 2781. Fax: (45) 3528 2757. E-mail: df{at}kvl.dk.

{dagger} S.J.P. and D.F. contributed equally to the presented work.

{ddagger} Present address: BioCentrum-DTU, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Lyngby, Denmark.

Journal of Bacteriology, July 2006, p. 4861-4870, Vol. 188, No. 13
0021-9193/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.00194-06
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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