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Infection and Immunity, June 2001, p. 4079-4085, Vol. 69, No. 6
0019-9567/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/IAI.69.6.4079-4085.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Anaerobic Conditions Induce Expression of Polysaccharide Intercellular Adhesin in Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis

Sarah E. Cramton,1 Martina Ulrich,2 Friedrich Götz,1 and Gerd Döring2,*

Department of Microbial Genetics1 and Department of General and Environmental Hygiene, Hygiene Institute,2 University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

Received 27 November 2000/Returned for modification 12 February 2001/Accepted 2 March 2001

Products of the intercellular adhesion (ica) operon in Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis synthesize a linear beta -1,6-linked glucosaminylglycan. This extracellular polysaccharide mediates bacterial cell-cell adhesion and is required for biofilm formation, which is thought to increase the virulence of both pathogens in association with prosthetic biomedical implants. The environmental signal(s) that triggers ica gene product and polysaccharide expression is unknown. Here we demonstrate that anaerobic in vitro growth conditions lead to increased polysaccharide expression in both S. aureus and S. epidermidis, although the regulation is less stringent in S. epidermidis. Anaerobiosis also dramatically stimulates ica-specific mRNA expression in ica- and polysaccharide-positive strains of both S. aureus and S. epidermidis. These data suggest a mechanism whereby ica gene expression and polysaccharide production may act as a virulence factor in an anaerobic environment in vivo.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of General and Environmental Hygiene, Hygiene Institute, University of Tübingen, Wilhelmstrasse 31, D-72074 Tübingen, Germany. Phone: (49) 7071-298-2069. Fax: (49) 7071-29-3011. E-mail: gerd.doering{at}uni-tuebingen.de.

Infection and Immunity, June 2001, p. 4079-4085, Vol. 69, No. 6
0019-9567/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/IAI.69.6.4079-4085.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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