To identify the phenol soluble modulins whose production are primarily affected by SarZ in Staphylococcus epidermidis

Phenol-soluble modulins (PSMs) are a class of short, amphipathic, α-helical peptides, which have strong cytolytic effects toward leukocytes and erythrocytes in S. epidermidis. SarZ is a key transcriptional regulator required for the expression of virulence factors. To determine whether the production of PSMs is under the control of SarZ, a sarZ deletion mutant strain was generated. Through butanol extraction of the spent medium and subsequent HPLC-MS/MS analysis, the amounts of PSMs were compared between the sarZ mutant and its parent strain.