Differential RNA-Seq (dRNA-seq) of Staphylococcus epidermidis PS2 and PS10 isolates

We performed differential RNA-seq of two Staphylococcus epidermidis clinical isolates (PS2 and PS10) to compare their transcription profiles. The isolates were originally obtained from blood cultures during a systemic infection in an immunocompromised patient (Weisser et al. 2010. J Clin Microbiol 48: 2407-2412). They are of clonal origin, but differ phenotypically with respect to extracellular biofilm matrix production. Thus PS2, isolated in the early stage of the infection, forms a weak biofilm mediated by protein-protein interactions, while PS10, which was obtained at the end of the infection course, forms a strong biofilm through production of a polysaccharide intercellular adhesin (PIA) extracellular biofilm matrix. Transcription profiling by dRNA-seq was performed to elucidate differentially expressed metabolic pathways and regulators contributing to the switch in extracellular biofilm matrix producction between the two isolates. Overall design: Exponentially growing S. epidermidis PS2 and PS10 isolates were subjected to dRNA-seq. A detailed analysis of the transcriptome focusing on metabolic gene expression was performed