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Infection and Immunity, February 2006, p. 1091-1096, Vol. 74, No. 2
0019-9567/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.74.2.1091-1096.2006
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Virulence of Staphylococcus aureus Small Colony Variants in the Caenorhabditis elegans Infection Model

Costi D. Sifri,1,4* Andrea Baresch-Bernal,1 Stephen B. Calderwood,1,2 and Christof von Eiff3

Division of Infectious Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts,1 Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts,2 Institute of Medical Microbiology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany,3 Division of Infectious Diseases and International Health, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, Virginia4

Received 31 May 2005/ Returned for modification 22 July 2005/ Accepted 9 November 2005

Small colony variants (SCVs) of Staphylococcus aureus are slow-growing morphological variants that have been implicated in persistent, relapsing, and antibiotic-resistant infections. The altered phenotype of SCVs in most strains has been attributed to defects in electron transport due to mutations in hemin or menadione biosynthesis. The pathogenic capacity of SCVs compared to phenotypically normal strains is variable depending on the attribute examined, with some studies showing reduced virulence of SCVs and others demonstrating normal or heightened virulence. Recently, the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has been successfully employed as an alternative host to investigate virulence mechanisms of a variety of bacterial pathogens, including S. aureus. In this study, we show that clinical SCVs as well as hemB- and menD-deficient mutants of S. aureus are greatly reduced in virulence in the C. elegans infection model.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: University of Virginia Health System, Division of Infectious Diseases and International Health, P.O. Box 801361, Charlottesville, VA 22908. Phone: (434) 243-0060. Fax: (434) 924-0075. E-mail: csifri{at}virginia.org.

Editor: J. N. Weiser

Infection and Immunity, February 2006, p. 1091-1096, Vol. 74, No. 2
0019-9567/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.74.2.1091-1096.2006
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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