title: The Staphylococcus aureus scdA gene: a novel locus that affects cell division and morphogenesis.
abstract: A new Staphylococcus aureus gene termed scdA was found upstream of the autolysis regulatory genes, lytS and lytR, and was shown to potentially encode a hydrophilic 25 kDa protein. Analysis of scdA transcription revealed that it is transcribed as a monocistronic message and is lytSR-independent. A role in cell wall metabolism was indicated by examination of the scdA mutant S. aureus KB323, which had a grossly aberrant cellular morphology and formed large cell clusters when grown in liquid culture medium. Furthermore, KB323 exhibited a reduced rate of autolysis and had increased peptidoglycan cross-linking compared to the parental strain, NCTC 8325-4. These data suggest that scdA plays an important role in staphylococcal cell division.
authors.affiliation: University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Program in Molecular and Cell Biology, Baltimore, MD 21228, USA.
authors.forename: Eric W
authors.initials: EW
authors.lastname: Brunskill
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Microbiology, Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10021, USA.
authors.forename: Boudewijn L M
authors.initials: BLM
authors.lastname: de Jonge
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844-3052, USA.
authors.forename: Kenneth W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Bayles
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D001483:Base Sequence; D002455:Cell Division / Q000235:genetics; D002473:Cell Wall / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009024:Morphogenesis / Q000235:genetics; D009154:Mutation; D010457:Peptidoglycan / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D010457:Peptidoglycan