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Jackson JK, Kennedy SJ, Felton EA, Cella E, Lima A, Becker D, Silbert S, Kim K, Azarian T, Shaw LN. Draft genome sequence of a highly proteolytic Staphylococcus aureus USA300 isolate from human urine. Microbiol Resour Announc 2023; 12:e0067923. [PMID: 37933968 PMCID: PMC10720404 DOI: 10.1128/mra.00679-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2023] [Accepted: 09/29/2023] [Indexed: 11/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The secreted proteases of Staphylococcus aureus have been shown to be critical during infection. Here, we present the draft genome sequence of S. aureus TGH337, a hyper-proteolytic USA300 strain isolated from human urine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica K. Jackson
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA
| | - Sarah J. Kennedy
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA
| | - Emily A. Felton
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA
| | - Eleonora Cella
- Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida, USA
| | - Amorce Lima
- Esoteric Testing/R&D Laboratory, Tampa General Hospital, Tampa, Florida, USA
| | - Deanna Becker
- Esoteric Testing/R&D Laboratory, Tampa General Hospital, Tampa, Florida, USA
| | - Suzane Silbert
- Esoteric Testing/R&D Laboratory, Tampa General Hospital, Tampa, Florida, USA
| | - Kami Kim
- Division of Infectious Disease and Internal Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA
- Center for Global Health Infectious Diseases Research, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA
- Global Emerging Diseases Institute, Tampa General Hospital, Tampa, Florida, USA
| | - Taj Azarian
- Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida, USA
| | - Lindsey N. Shaw
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA
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Al Ali A, Alsulami J, Aubee JI, Idowu A, Tomlinson BR, Felton EA, Jackson JK, Kennedy SJ, Torres NJ, Shaw LN, Thompson KM. Staphylococcus aureus SigS Induces Expression of a Regulatory Protein Pair That Modulates Its mRNA Stability. J Bacteriol 2023; 205:e0039222. [PMID: 37255480 PMCID: PMC10294688 DOI: 10.1128/jb.00392-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2022] [Accepted: 04/13/2023] [Indexed: 06/01/2023] Open
Abstract
SigS is the sole extracytoplasmic function sigma factor in Staphylococcus aureus and is necessary for virulence, immune evasion, and adaptation to toxic chemicals and environmental stressors. Despite the contribution of SigS to a myriad of critical phenotypes, the downstream effectors of SigS-dependent pathogenesis, immune evasion, and stress adaptation remain elusive. To address this knowledge gap, we analyzed the S. aureus transcriptome following transient overexpression of SigS. We identified a bicistronic transcript, upregulated 1,000-fold, containing two midsized genes, each containing single domains of unknown function (DUFs). We renamed these genes SigS-regulated orfA (sroA) and SigS-regulated orfB (sroB). We demonstrated that SigS regulation of the sroAB operon is direct by using in vitro transcription analysis. Using Northern blot analysis, we also demonstrated that SroA and SroB have opposing autoregulatory functions on the transcriptional architecture of the sigS locus, with SroA stimulating SigS mRNA levels and SroB stimulating s750 (SigS antisense) levels. We hypothesized that these opposing regulatory effects were due to a direct interaction. We subsequently demonstrated a direct interaction between SroA and SroB using an in vivo surrogate genetics approach via bacterial adenylate cyclase-based two-hybrid (BACTH) analysis. We demonstrated that the SroA effect on SigS is at the posttranscriptional level of mRNA stability, highlighting a mechanism likely used by S. aureus to tightly control SigS levels. Finally, we demonstrate that the sroAB locus promotes virulence in a murine pneumonia model of infection. IMPORTANCE SigS is necessary for S. aureus virulence, immune evasion, and adaptation to chemical and environmental stressors. These processes are critically important for the ability of S. aureus to cause disease. However, the SigS-dependent transcriptome has not been identified, hindering our ability to identify downstream effectors of SigS that contribute to these pathogenic and adaptive phenotypes. Here, we identify a regulatory protein pair that is a major direct target of SigS, known as SroA and SroB. SroA also acts to stimulate SigS expression at the posttranscriptional level of RNA turnover, providing insight into intrinsically low levels of SigS. The discovery of SroA and SroB increases our understanding of SigS and the S. aureus pathogenesis process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amer Al Ali
- Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Howard University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Jamilah Alsulami
- Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Howard University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Joseph I. Aubee
- Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Howard University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Ayotimofe Idowu
- Department of Biology, College of Arts and Sciences, Howard University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Brooke R. Tomlinson
- Department of Cell Biology, Microbiology, and Molecular Biology, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA
| | - Emily A. Felton
- Department of Cell Biology, Microbiology, and Molecular Biology, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA
| | - Jessica K. Jackson
- Department of Cell Biology, Microbiology, and Molecular Biology, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA
| | - Sarah J. Kennedy
- Department of Cell Biology, Microbiology, and Molecular Biology, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA
| | - Nathanial J. Torres
- Department of Cell Biology, Microbiology, and Molecular Biology, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA
| | - Lindsey N. Shaw
- Department of Cell Biology, Microbiology, and Molecular Biology, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA
| | - Karl M. Thompson
- Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Howard University, Washington, DC, USA
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Felton EA, Radwin RG, Wilson JA, Williams JC. Evaluation of a modified Fitts law brain-computer interface target acquisition task in able and motor disabled individuals. J Neural Eng 2009; 6:056002. [PMID: 19700814 PMCID: PMC4075430 DOI: 10.1088/1741-2560/6/5/056002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
A brain-computer interface (BCI) is a communication system that takes recorded brain signals and translates them into real-time actions, in this case movement of a cursor on a computer screen. This work applied Fitts' law to the evaluation of performance on a target acquisition task during sensorimotor rhythm-based BCI training. Fitts' law, which has been used as a predictor of movement time in studies of human movement, was used here to determine the information transfer rate, which was based on target acquisition time and target difficulty. The information transfer rate was used to make comparisons between control modalities and subject groups on the same task. Data were analyzed from eight able-bodied and five motor disabled participants who wore an electrode cap that recorded and translated their electroencephalogram (EEG) signals into computer cursor movements. Direct comparisons were made between able-bodied and disabled subjects, and between EEG and joystick cursor control in able-bodied subjects. Fitts' law aptly described the relationship between movement time and index of difficulty for each task movement direction when evaluated separately and averaged together. This study showed that Fitts' law can be successfully applied to computer cursor movement controlled by neural signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- E A Felton
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - R G Radwin
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - J A Wilson
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - J C Williams
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI 53706, USA
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Rich PV, Rich TH, Wagstaff BE, Mason JM, Douthitt CB, Gregory RT, Felton EA. Evidence for Low Temperatures and Biologic Diversity in Cretaceous High Latitudes of Australia. Science 1988; 242:1403-6. [PMID: 17802135 DOI: 10.1126/science.242.4884.1403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
A diverse terrestial biota inhabited polar latitudes during the Cretacous, 105 to 130 Ma (million years ago), along what is now the southeast coast of Australia This biota, from rocks in the Otway and Strzelecki groups, cnsisted of more than 150 taxa of vertebrates, invertebrates, and plants. Oxygen isotope ratios in diagenetic calcite suggest that mean annual temperatures were most likely less than 5 degrees C, and rings present in the fossil araucarian-podocarp-ginko woods indicate saonality. Southeastern Austalia, thus, seems to have had a cool, seasonal, nontropical climate. Dinosaurs that have been recovered are up to five species and three genera of hypsilophodontids, all of which were endemic, and three species of theropods. The occurrence of Allosaurus sp. and labyrinthodont amphibians, which had become extinct elsewhere in the Jurassic, indicate that isolation may have allowed extended surival of these taxa in Australia. In that dinosaurs coped with high latitude for at least 65 million years [Valaginian to Albian time in Australia and Campanian to Maastrictian time (80 to 65 Ma) in Alaska] suggests that cold and darkness may not have been prime factors bringing about the extinction of dinosaurs and some other groups at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary, unless they were prolonged.
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