Construction and Characterization of anagr Deletion Mutant of Staphylococcus epidermidis

C Vuong, F Götz, M Otto - Infection and immunity, 2000 - Am Soc Microbiol
C Vuong, F Götz, M Otto
Infection and immunity, 2000Am Soc Microbiol
The physiological significance of the accessory gene regulator (agr) system of
Staphylococcus epidermidis was investigated by construction of an agr deletion mutant via
allelic replacement with a spectinomycin resistance cassette. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-
polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) analysis showed that the protein pattern
was strongly altered in the mutant; the amounts of most surface proteins were higher,
whereas the amounts of most exoproteins were lower. The agr system of S. epidermidis thus …
Abstract
The physiological significance of the accessory gene regulator (agr) system of Staphylococcus epidermidis was investigated by construction of an agr deletion mutant via allelic replacement with a spectinomycin resistance cassette. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) analysis showed that the protein pattern was strongly altered in the mutant; the amounts of most surface proteins were higher, whereas the amounts of most exoproteins were lower. The agrsystem of S. epidermidis thus appears to have an important impact on growth phase-dependent protein synthesis as has been shown for Staphylococcus aureus. The activity of the exoenzymes lipase and protease, assumed to be involved in staphylococcal pathogenicity, was investigated by agar diffusion assays and SDS-PAGE activity staining. A general reduction of these enzyme activities in the agr mutant was found. The difference in overall lipase activity was small, but zymographic analysis suggested a clear defect in lipase processing in the agr mutant.
American Society for Microbiology