
ABSTRACT Antibiotic resistance and tolerance remain a major problem for the treatment of staphylococcal infections. Identifying genes that influence antibiotic susceptibility could open the door to novel antimicrobial strategies, including targets for new synergistic drug combinations. Here, we developed a genome-wide CRISPR interference library for Staphylococcus aureus , demonstrated its use by quantifying gene fitness in different strains through CRISPRi-seq, and used it to identify genes that modulate susceptibility to the lipoglycopeptide dalbavancin. By exposing the library to sublethal concentrations of dalbavancin using both CRISPRi-seq and direct selection methods, we not only found genes previously reported to be involved in antibiotic susceptibility but also identified genes thus far unknown to affect antibiotic tolerance. Importantly, some of these genes could not have been detected by more conventional transposon-based knockout approaches because they are essential for growth, stressing the complementary value of CRISPRi-based methods. Notably, knockdown of a gene encoding the uncharacterized protein KapB specifically sensitizes the cells to dalbavancin, but not to other antibiotics of the same class, whereas knockdown of the Shikimate pathway showed the opposite effect. The results presented here demonstrate the promise of CRISPRi-seq screens to identify genes and pathways involved in antibiotic susceptibility and pave the way to explore alternative antimicrobial treatments through these insights. IMPORTANCE Antibiotic resistance is a challenge for treating staphylococcal infections. Identifying genes that affect how antibiotics work could help create new treatments. In our study, we made a CRISPR interference library for Staphylococcus aureus and used this to find which genes are critical for growth and also mapped genes that are important for antibiotic sensitivity, focusing on the lipoglycopeptide antibiotic dalbavancin. With this method, we identified genes that altered the sensitivity to dalbavancin upon knockdown, including genes involved in different cellular functions. CRISPRi-seq offers a means to uncover untapped antibiotic targets, including those that conventional screens would disregard due to their essentiality. This paves the way for the discovery of new ways to fight infections.
Staphylococcus aureus, antibiotic resistance, Teicoplanin/analogs & derivatives; Teicoplanin/pharmacology; Staphylococcus aureus/drug effects; Staphylococcus aureus/genetics; Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Genome, Bacterial/genetics; CRISPR-Cas Systems/genetics; Bacterial Proteins/genetics; Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats/genetics; Drug Resistance, Bacterial/genetics; Drug Resistance, Bacterial/drug effects; CRISPR interference; Staphylococcus aureus; antibiotic resistance; genetic screen, Microbial Sensitivity Tests, Microbiology, QR1-502, Anti-Bacterial Agents, Bacterial Proteins, genetic screen, Drug Resistance, Bacterial, Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, Teicoplanin, CRISPR-Cas Systems, CRISPR interference, Genome, Bacterial, Research Article
Staphylococcus aureus, antibiotic resistance, Teicoplanin/analogs & derivatives; Teicoplanin/pharmacology; Staphylococcus aureus/drug effects; Staphylococcus aureus/genetics; Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Genome, Bacterial/genetics; CRISPR-Cas Systems/genetics; Bacterial Proteins/genetics; Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats/genetics; Drug Resistance, Bacterial/genetics; Drug Resistance, Bacterial/drug effects; CRISPR interference; Staphylococcus aureus; antibiotic resistance; genetic screen, Microbial Sensitivity Tests, Microbiology, QR1-502, Anti-Bacterial Agents, Bacterial Proteins, genetic screen, Drug Resistance, Bacterial, Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, Teicoplanin, CRISPR-Cas Systems, CRISPR interference, Genome, Bacterial, Research Article
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| popularity This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network. | Top 10% | |
| influence This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | Average | |
| impulse This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network. | Top 10% |
