|
|||||
|
|
A toxic shock syndrome toxin mutant of Staphylococcus aureus isolated by allelic replacement lacks virulence in a rabbit uterine model |
|
| Authors: | Rhona Sloane Joyce C.S. de Azavedo John P. Arbuthnott Patrick J. Hartigan Barry Kreiswirth Richard Novick Timothy J. Foster |
| Affiliation: | Microbiology Department, Moyne Institute, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. |
| Abstract: | The gene coding for toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 in S. aureus was inactivated by allelic replacement in two TSS-associated strains. One mutant derived from FRI1169 (a non-enterotoxigenic strain) lacked virulence in the rabbit uterine chamber infection model. This suggests that TSST-1 is the only determinant produced by this strain that can induce the symptoms of shock in rabbits. A novel method for allelic replacement involving transduction of plasmid integrants is described. |
| Keywords: | Staphylococcus aureus Toxic shock syndrome toxin Allele replacement mutant Animal model |