Characterization Of The Staphylococcus Aureus Nitric Oxide Synthase Gene And Its Role In Biofilm Development

Download or read book Characterization of the Staphylococcus Aureus Nitric Oxide Synthase Gene and Its Role in Biofilm Development written by Erin Ahmo Almand and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Phenotypic differences were also observed when UAMS-1 and the nos mutant were grown as static biofilms. The nos mutant had a more attached structure when compared to the UAMS-1 wild-type strain, which, when analyzed by COMSTAT software, showed an increase in biomass and average thickness in the nos mutant. Analysis also showed a decrease in biomass to surface area ratio, suggesting the nos mutant biofilm may be less adaptable to a changing environment compared to the wild-type UAMS-1. Complementation of the nos mutation resulted in reversion of the pigment production, biofilm phenotypes and qRT-PCR data back to wild-type results. Based on these results and the link between SaNOS and oxidative stress, a working model is proposed in which nos expression may be up-regulated in S. aureus biofilms in response to oxidative stress (such as in the presence of immune cell respiratory burst), which in turn enhances endogenous NO production in the biofilm which may participate in regulatory processes such as signaling cell dispersal.