Staphylococcus saprophyticussurface-associated protein (Ssp) is associated with lifespan reduction inCaenorhabditis elegans

Staphylococcal lipases have been proposed as pathogenicity factors. InStaphylococcus saprophyticusthe surface-associated protein (Ssp) has been previously characterized as a cell wall-associated true lipase. aS. saprophyticusΔssp::ermB mutant has been described as less virulent in an in vivo model of urinary tract infection compared with its wild-type. This is the first report showing thatS. saprophyticusinduced a lifespan reduction inCaenorhabditis eleganssimilar to that ofS. aureusRN4220. In twoS. saprophyticusΔssp::ermB mutants lifespan reduction inC. eleganswas partly abolished.

In order to attribute virulence to the lipase activity itself and distinguish this phenomenon from the presence of the Ssp-protein, the conserved active site of the lipase was modified by site-directed ligase-independent mutagenesis and lipase activity-deficient mutants were constructed. These results indicate that the Ssp is associated with pathogenicity inC. elegansand one could speculate that the lipase activity itself is responsible for this virulence.