Characterization of the LFR Genomic Islet in Staphylococcus aureus CC30

We report the application of RNA-Seq to assess transcriptional profiles of S. aureus CC30 strains with allelic replacements (knockouts) of two genes in the LFR genomic islet: 1) fatty acid desaturase (fad) and 2) a MocR regulator. The overall results of our study suggest that the LFR islet enhances metabolic plasticity of the CC30 lineage which contributes to increased colonization, survival and persistence in the host. Overall design: The background strain used for these experiments was UAMS-1. Allelic replacements of fad and MocR were made in UAMS-1. The RNA-Seq experiments compared the transcriptional profiles of UAMS-1 vs. delta fad, and UAMS-1 vs. delta MocR. Two biological replicates were used for each RNA-Seq analysis.