ABSTRACTLipoteichoic acid (LTA) inStaphylococcus aureusis a poly-glycerophosphate polymer anchored to the outer surface of the cell membrane. LTA has numerous roles in cell envelope physiology, including regulating cell autolysis, coordinating cell division, and adapting to environmental growth conditions. LTA is often further modified with substituents, includingd-alanine and glycosyl groups, to alter cellular function. While the genetic determinants ofd-alanylation have been largely defined, the route of LTA glycosylation and its role in cell envelope physiology have remained unknown, in part due to the low levels of basal LTA glycosylation inS. aureus. We demonstrate here thatS. aureusutilizes a membrane-associated three-component glycosylation system composed of an undecaprenol (Und)N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) charging enzyme (CsbB; SAOUHSC_00713), a putative flippase to transport loaded substrate to the outside surface of the cell (GtcA; SAOUHSC_02722), and finally an LTA-specific glycosyltransferase that adds α-GlcNAc moieties to LTA (YfhO; SAOUHSC_01213). We demonstrate that this system is specific for LTA with no cross recognition of the structurally similar polyribitol phosphate containing wall teichoic acids. We show that while wild-typeS. aureusLTA has only a trace of GlcNAcylated LTA under normal growth conditions, amounts are raised upon either overexpressing CsbB, reducing endogenousd-alanylation activity, expressing the cell envelope stress responsive alternative sigma factor SigB, or by exposure to environmental stress-inducing culture conditions, including growth media containing high levels of sodium chloride.IMPORTANCEThe role of glycosylation in the structure and function ofStaphylococcus aureuslipoteichoic acid (LTA) is largely unknown. By defining key components of the LTA three-component glycosylation pathway and uncovering stress-induced regulation by the alternative sigma factor SigB, the role ofN-acetylglucosamine tailoring during adaptation to environmental stresses can now be elucidated. As thedltand glycosylation pathways compete for the same sites on LTA and induction of glycosylation results in decreasedd-alanylation, the interplay between the two modification systems holds implications for resistance to antibiotics and antimicrobial peptides.
Sigma-B, a putative operon encoding alternate sigma factor of Staphylococcus aureus RNA polymerase: molecular cloning and DNA sequencing.