Global transcriptional profiles of Staphylococcus aureus treated with berberine chloride.
In this study, we show that berberine chloride (BBR) has antimicrobial activities against all 43 tested strains of Staphylococcus aureus, an important human and animal pathogen. However, the response mechanisms of S. aureus to BBR are still poorly understood. Affymetrix GeneChips were used to determine the global transcription of S. aureus triggered by treatment with subinhibitory concentrations of BBR. 468 genes were up-regulated and 262 genes were down-regulated upon exposure to BBR. There was elevated transcription of various transporter genes, including genes involved in multidrug resistance, members of the multidrug and toxin extrusion family, the ferrous iron transporter, the amino acid transporter, the Na(+)/H(+) antiporter, and the potassium cation transporter. Measurements of active transport were used to demonstrate a phenotypic correlation between efflux transporter overexpression and inhibition of BBR uptake. Furthermore, BBR induced the expression of urease genes, sortase enzyme, and iron-regulated surface determinant genes, but repressed transcription of a gene encoding arylamine N-acetyltransferase activity (N315-SA2490). To our knowledge, this is the first analysis of a genome-wide transcription profile of S. aureus cells in response to BBR treatment. These results will pave the way to exploring the mechanisms of BBR against S. aureus.
Wang
Dacheng
D
College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University, Xi'an Road 5333, Changchun, China.
Yu
Lu
L
Xiang
Hua
H
Fan
Junwen
J
He
Liang
L
Guo
Na
N
Feng
Haihua
H
Deng
Xuming
X
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001599:Berberine / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001693:Biological Transport, Active; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial / Q000187:drug effects*; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D012329:RNA, Bacterial; D001599:Berberine