The Staphylococcus aureus allelic genetic loci for serotype 5 and 8 capsule expression contain the type-specific genes flanked by common genes.
The nucleotide sequences of two gene clusters, cap5 and cap8, involved in the synthesis of Staphylococcus aureus type 5 and type 8 capsular polysaccharides (CPs), respectively were determined. Each gene cluster contained 16 ORFs, which were named cap5A through cap5P for type 5 CP and cap8A through cap8P for type 8 CP. The cap5 and cap8 loci were allelic and were mapped to the SmaI-G fragment in the standard SmaI map of Staph. aureus strain NCTC 8325. The predicted gene products of cap5A through cap5G and cap5L through cap5P are essentially identical to those of cap8A through cap8G and cap8L through cap8P, respectively, with very few amino acid substitutions. Four ORFs located in the central region of each locus are type-specific. A comparison of the predicted amino acid sequences of cap5 and cap8 with sequences found in the databases allowed tentative assignment of functions to 15 of the 16 ORFs. The majority of the capsule genes are likely to be involved in amino sugar synthesis; the remainder are likely to be involved in sugar transfer, capsule chain-length regulation, polymerization and transport.
Sau
Subrata
S
Department of Microbiology, Molecular Genetics and Immunology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas 66160, USA.
Bhasin
Navneet
N
Channing Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
Wann
Elisabeth R
ER
Microbiology Department, Moyne Institute, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland.
Lee
Jean C
JC
Channing Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
Foster
Timothy J
TJ
Microbiology Department, Moyne Institute, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland.
Lee
Chia Y
CY
Department of Microbiology, Molecular Genetics and Immunology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas 66160, USA.
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001692:Biological Transport / Q000235:genetics; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017421:Sequence Analysis; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000235:genetics*
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; C107803:Cap5 protein, Staphylococcus; D005656:Fungal Proteins; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial