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Updated: Jun 29, 2025

A Fluorescence-based Method to Study Bacterial Gene Regulation in Infected Tissues
Published on: February 19, 2019
The 3' UTR of vigR is required for virulence in Staphylococcus aureus and has expanded through STAR sequence repeat
Daniel G Mediati1, William Dan2, David Lalaouna3
1School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Australian Institute for Microbiology and Infection, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, Australia.
Abstract:
Infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are alarmingly common, and treatment is confined to last-line antibiotics. Vancomycin is the treatment of choice for MRSA bacteremia, and treatment failure is often associated with vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus isolates. The regulatory 3' UTR of the vigR mRNA contributes to vancomycin tolerance and upregulates the autolysin IsaA. Using MS2-affinity purification coupled with RNA sequencing, we find that the vigR 3' UTR also regulates dapE, a succinyl-diaminopimelate desuccinylase required for lysine and peptidoglycan synthesis, suggesting a broader role in controlling cell wall metabolism and vancomycin tolerance. Deletion of the 3' UTR increased virulence, while the isaA mutant is completely attenuated in a wax moth larvae model. Sequence and structural analyses of vigR indicated that the 3' UTR has expanded through the acquisition of Staphylococcus aureus repeat insertions that contribute sequence for the isaA interaction seed and may functionalize the 3' UTR.
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