title: The role of Staphylococcal carotenogenesis in resistance to host defense peptides and in vivo virulence in experimental endocarditis model.
abstract: The defining hallmark of the newly described species, Staphylococcus argenteus, in comparison to its sister species, S. aureus and S. schweitzeri, is the absence of production of the carotenoid pigment, staphyloxanthin. Staphylococcus argenteus lacks the responsible genetic locus crtOPQMN. We examined the impact of carotenoid synthesis in two non-pigmented S. argenteus strains, MSHR1132 and SCC1165. Following complementation with a plasmid containing the carotenoid operon (pTX-crtOPQMN), compared to wild type, both complemented strains showed substantial carotenoid production, with a resultant increase in cell membrane rigidity. Surprisingly, both crtOPQMN-complemented strains exhibited increased susceptibility to the host defense peptides, LL-37 and hNP-1 in vitro, and reduced virulence in an experimental rabbit endocarditis model.
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at UCLA Medical Center Torrance, CA 90502, USA David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
authors.forename: Yan Q
authors.initials: YQ
authors.lastname: Xiong
authors.affiliation: School of Bioresources and Bioscience, Chung-Ang University, 4726 Seodong-daero, Daedeokl-myeon, Anseong-si, Gyeonggi-do 456-756 Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Soo-Jin
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University, Darwin 0810, Australia.
authors.forename: Steven Y C
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Tong
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at UCLA Medical Center Torrance, CA 90502, USA.
authors.forename: Danya N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Alvarez
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at UCLA Medical Center Torrance, CA 90502, USA David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA nnmishra@ucla.edu.
authors.forename: Nagendra N
authors.initials: NN
authors.lastname: Mishra
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / Q000378:metabolism*; D053898:Biosynthetic Pathways / Q000235:genetics; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004696:Endocarditis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D005816:Genetic Complementation Test; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D009876:Operon; D010957:Plasmids; D011817:Rabbits; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D014774:Virulence; D024341:Xanthophylls / Q000378:metabolism*; D023084:alpha-Defensins / Q000378:metabolism*; D054804:Cathelicidins
chemical_list: D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; D024341:Xanthophylls; D023084:alpha-Defensins; C406564:defensin NP-1; C031841:staphyloxanthin; D054804:Cathelicidins
keywords: Staphylococcus argenteus; carotenoid pigment; staphyloxanthin; virulence