title: The pleiotropic CymR regulator of Staphylococcus aureus plays an important role in virulence and stress response.
abstract: We have characterized a novel pleiotropic role for CymR, the master regulator of cysteine metabolism. We show here that CymR plays an important role both in stress response and virulence of Staphylococcus aureus. Genes involved in detoxification processes, including oxidative stress response and metal ion homeostasis, were differentially expressed in a DeltacymR mutant. Deletion of cymR resulted in increased sensitivity to hydrogen peroxide-, disulfide-, tellurite- and copper-induced stresses. Estimation of metabolite pools suggests that this heightened sensitivity could be the result of profound metabolic changes in the DeltacymR mutant, with an increase in the intracellular cysteine pool and hydrogen sulfide formation. Since resistance to oxidative stress within the host organism is important for pathogen survival, we investigated the role of CymR during the infectious process. Our results indicate that the deletion of cymR promotes survival of S. aureus inside macrophages, whereas virulence of the DeltacymR mutant is highly impaired in mice. These data indicate that CymR plays a major role in virulence and adaptation of S. aureus for survival within the host.
authors.affiliation: Institut Pasteur, Unité de Génétique des Génomes Bactériens, CNRS URA 2171, Paris, France. olga.soutourina@pasteur.fr
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Soutourina
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dubrac
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Poupel
authors.forename: Tarek
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Msadek
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Martin-Verstraete
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D003300:Copper / Q000494:pharmacology; D003553:Cystine / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D004220:Disulfides / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D017353:Gene Deletion; D005798:Genes, Bacterial / Q000502:physiology*; D006706:Homeostasis / Q000502:physiology; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide / Q000494:pharmacology; D008264:Macrophages / Q000166:cytology / Q000382:microbiology*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D016877:Oxidants / Q000494:pharmacology; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D013691:Tellurium / Q000494:pharmacology; D015854:Up-Regulation / Q000502:physiology; D014774:Virulence
chemical_list: D004220:Disulfides; D016877:Oxidants; D003553:Cystine; D003300:Copper; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide; C026660:tellurous acid; D013691:Tellurium