Summary
For the human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus, phages are the primary vehicles for horizontal gene transfer and have a profound influence on virulence, resistance development and thereby pathogen evolution. ϕSa3-phages are highly prevalent in isolates of human origin but not in S. aureus strains isolated from animals. While they are known to carry a number of human-specific virulence factors, very little is known about the basic mechanism leading to mobilization and integration of these phages within the bacterial host. From our previous work, we have evidence that bacterial factors interfere with the phage life cycle. Such interference mechanisms have been rarely described so far. In this project, we will focus on investigating the complex mechanism involved in transfer and function of ϕSa3-phages and on the interference imposed by the bacterial host upon ϕSa3-phages. The elucidation of such mechanisms may help to better understand the evolution and host adaptation of certain S. aureus lineages.
