Changes in physiological properties of bacteriophage-insensitive Staphylococcus aureus

초록

This study was designed to assess the physiological properties of bacteriophage-insensitive Staphylococcus aureus (BISA) mutants, comparing lytic activity, antibiotic susceptibility, gene expression, sessile-forming ability, and sessile cell stability. Wild-type S. aureus (WTSA) was used to isolate BISA mutants against bacteriophage SA11 by the agar plate method. BISA mutants varied in their bacteriophage specificity and antibiotic susceptibility. The highest resistance to bacteriophage SA11 was observed in BISA4, followed by BISA3, BISA2, and BISA1. Enhanced bacteriophage resistance was stable in BISA2, BISA3, and BISA4 during the 24-h incubation period at 37 degrees C. The adhesion-related genes (clfA, clfB, eno, fib, and fnbB) were up-regulated in all BISA mutants, which correlated well with the sessile-forming ability but not the stability of sessile cells. This study provides new insights into the diversity in phenotypic and molecular properties of bacteriophage-resistant S. aureus during the planktonic-to-sessile transition and mature sessile stages.

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