Processing, Export, and Identification of Novel Linear Peptides from Staphylococcus aureus

Here, we provide evidence indicating that S. aureus secretes small linear peptides into the environment via a novel processing and secretion pathway. The discovery of a specialized pathway for the production of small linear peptides and the identification of these peptides leads to several important...

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Main Authors: Katrin Schilcher, Lindsay K. Caesar, Nadja B. Cech, Alexander R. Horswill
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: American Society for Microbiology 2020-04-01
Series:mBio
Subjects:
eep
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.00112-20
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spelling doaj-a00e769e5eb141bca4d5ff14f4efbab42021-07-02T10:29:53ZengAmerican Society for MicrobiologymBio2150-75112020-04-01112e00112-2010.1128/mBio.00112-20Processing, Export, and Identification of Novel Linear Peptides from Staphylococcus aureusKatrin SchilcherLindsay K. CaesarNadja B. CechAlexander R. HorswillHere, we provide evidence indicating that S. aureus secretes small linear peptides into the environment via a novel processing and secretion pathway. The discovery of a specialized pathway for the production of small linear peptides and the identification of these peptides leads to several important questions regarding their role in S. aureus biology, most interestingly, their potential to act as signaling molecules. The observations in this study provide a foundation for further in-depth studies into the biological activity of small linear peptides in S. aureus.Staphylococcus aureus can colonize the human host and cause a variety of superficial and invasive infections. The success of S. aureus as a pathogen derives from its ability to modulate its virulence through the release, sensing of and response to cyclic signaling peptides. Here we provide, for the first time, evidence that S. aureus processes and secretes small linear peptides through a specialized pathway that converts a lipoprotein leader into an extracellular peptide signal. We have identified and confirmed the machinery for each step and demonstrate that the putative membrane metalloprotease Eep and the EcsAB transporter are required to complete the processing and secretion of the peptides. In addition, we have identified several linear peptides, including the interspecies signaling molecule staph-cAM373, that are dependent on this processing and secretion pathway. These findings are particularly important because multiple Gram-positive bacteria rely on small linear peptides to control bacterial gene expression and virulence.https://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.00112-20s. aureuslinear peptideslipoproteinseepecsabstaphylococcus aureus
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Katrin Schilcher
Lindsay K. Caesar
Nadja B. Cech
Alexander R. Horswill
spellingShingle Katrin Schilcher
Lindsay K. Caesar
Nadja B. Cech
Alexander R. Horswill
Processing, Export, and Identification of Novel Linear Peptides from Staphylococcus aureus
mBio
s. aureus
linear peptides
lipoproteins
eep
ecsab
staphylococcus aureus
author_facet Katrin Schilcher
Lindsay K. Caesar
Nadja B. Cech
Alexander R. Horswill
author_sort Katrin Schilcher
title Processing, Export, and Identification of Novel Linear Peptides from Staphylococcus aureus
title_short Processing, Export, and Identification of Novel Linear Peptides from Staphylococcus aureus
title_full Processing, Export, and Identification of Novel Linear Peptides from Staphylococcus aureus
title_fullStr Processing, Export, and Identification of Novel Linear Peptides from Staphylococcus aureus
title_full_unstemmed Processing, Export, and Identification of Novel Linear Peptides from Staphylococcus aureus
title_sort processing, export, and identification of novel linear peptides from staphylococcus aureus
publisher American Society for Microbiology
series mBio
issn 2150-7511
publishDate 2020-04-01
description Here, we provide evidence indicating that S. aureus secretes small linear peptides into the environment via a novel processing and secretion pathway. The discovery of a specialized pathway for the production of small linear peptides and the identification of these peptides leads to several important questions regarding their role in S. aureus biology, most interestingly, their potential to act as signaling molecules. The observations in this study provide a foundation for further in-depth studies into the biological activity of small linear peptides in S. aureus.Staphylococcus aureus can colonize the human host and cause a variety of superficial and invasive infections. The success of S. aureus as a pathogen derives from its ability to modulate its virulence through the release, sensing of and response to cyclic signaling peptides. Here we provide, for the first time, evidence that S. aureus processes and secretes small linear peptides through a specialized pathway that converts a lipoprotein leader into an extracellular peptide signal. We have identified and confirmed the machinery for each step and demonstrate that the putative membrane metalloprotease Eep and the EcsAB transporter are required to complete the processing and secretion of the peptides. In addition, we have identified several linear peptides, including the interspecies signaling molecule staph-cAM373, that are dependent on this processing and secretion pathway. These findings are particularly important because multiple Gram-positive bacteria rely on small linear peptides to control bacterial gene expression and virulence.
topic s. aureus
linear peptides
lipoproteins
eep
ecsab
staphylococcus aureus
url https://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.00112-20
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