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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, September 2000, p. 3931-3938, Vol. 66, No. 9
UPRES EA-1318, LTAB
Received 1 May 2000/Accepted 5 July 2000
A competitive reverse transcription-PCR method was developed for
the semiquantitation of the expression of genes encoding bicomponent
leucotoxins of Staphylococcus aureus, e.g.,
Panton-Valentine leucocidin (lukPV), gamma-hemolysin
(hlgA and hlgCB), and LukE-LukD (lukED). The optimization procedure included RNA
preparation; reverse transcription; the use of various amounts of
enzymes, antisense primer, and RNA; and the final amplification chain
reaction. Reproducible results were obtained, with sensitivity for
detection of cDNA within the range of 1 mRNA/104 CFU to
102 mRNA/CFU, depending on the gene. Both specific mRNAs
were more significantly expressed at the late-exponential phase of
growth. Expression was about 100-fold higher in yeast extract-Casamino Acids-pyruvate medium than in heart infusion medium. Expression of the
widely distributed gamma-hemolysin locus in the NTCC 8178 strain was
around 10-fold diminished compared with that in the ATCC 49775 strain.
Because of the lower level of hlgA expression, the
corresponding protein, which is generally not abundant in culture
supernatant, should be investigated for its contribution to the
leucotoxin-associated virulence. The agr, sar,
and agr sar mutant strains revealed a great dependence with
regard to leucotoxin expression on the global regulatory system in
S. aureus, except that expression of hlgA was
not affected in the agr mutant.
0099-2240/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Variable Expressions of Staphylococcus
aureus Bicomponent Leucotoxins Semiquantified by Competitive
Reverse Transcription-PCR
Institut de
Bactériologie de la Faculté de Médecine,
Université Louis Pasteur
Hôpitaux Universitaires de
Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: UPRES EA-1318,
LTAB
Institut de Bactériologie de la Faculté de
Médecine, Université Louis Pasteur
Hôpitaux
Universitaires de Strasbourg, 3 rue Koeberlé, F-67000 Strasbourg,
France. Phone: (33) 3 88 21 23 87. Fax: (33) 3 88 25 11 13. E-mail:
gilles.prevost{at}medecine.u-strasbg.fr.
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