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Updated: Jun 12, 2026

A Fluorescence-based Method to Study Bacterial Gene Regulation in Infected Tissues
Published on: February 19, 2019
Characterization of transcription within sdr region of Staphylococcus aureus
Izabela Sitkiewicz1, Ireneusz Babiak, Waleria Hryniewicz
1Department of Epidemiology and Clinical Microbiology, National Medicines Institute, Chełmska 30/34, Warsaw, Poland. isitkiewicz@cls.edu.pl
Abstract:
Staphylococcus aureus is an opportunistic pathogen responsible for various infections in humans and animals. It causes localized and systemic infections, such as abscesses, impetigo, cellulitis, sepsis, endocarditis, bone infections, and meningitis. S. aureus virulence factors responsible for the initial contact with host cells (MSCRAMMs-microbial surface components recognizing adhesive matrix molecules) include three Sdr proteins. The presence of particular sdr genes is correlated with putative tissue specificity. The transcriptional organization of the sdr region remains unclear. We tested expression of the sdrC, sdrD, or sdrE genes in various in vitro conditions, as well as after contact with human blood. In this work, we present data suggesting a separation of the sdr region into three transcriptional units, based on their differential reactions to the environment. Differential reaction of the sdrD transcript to environmental conditions and blood suggests dissimilar functions of the sdr genes. SdrE has been previously proposed to play role in bone infections, whilst our results can indicate that sdrD plays a role in the interactions between the pathogen and human immune system, serum or specifically reacts to nutrients/other factors present in human blood.
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