Toxin-mediated gene regulatory mechanism in Staphylococcus aureus

The dangerous human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus relies heavily on toxins to cause disease, but toxin production can put a strong burden on the bacteria's energy balance. Thus, controlling the synthesis of proteins solely needed in times of toxin production represents a way for the bacteria to avoid wasting energy. One hypothetical manner to accomplish this sort of regulation is by gene regulatory functions of the toxins themselves. There have been several reports about gene regulation by toxins in S. aureus, but these were never verified on the molecular level. In our study published in MBio [Joo et al., 7(5). pii: e01579-16], we show that phenol-soluble modulins (PSMs), important peptide toxins of S. aureus, release a repressor from the promoter of the operon encoding the toxin export system, thereby enabling toxin secretion. This study describes the first molecular regulatory mechanism exerted by an S. aureus toxin, setting a paradigmatic example of how S. aureus toxins may influence cell functions to adjust them to times of toxin production.