Exam 2 Lecture 11 Flashcards
Staphylococci
As of 2014, the Staphylococci genus consists of __ species and __ sub-species
47; 23
Staphylococci is a gram-___ cocci
Positive
Staphylococci are arranged as: (4 shapes)
singles, pairs, tetrads, clusters
Why are there so many different arrangements of Staphylococci?
They can divide in multiple perpendicular planes. This can lead to cluster formation
What is the DNA G/C content of Staphylococci?
27-41%
True or false: Staphylococci are motile and are capable of forming spores.
False: they are non-motile and non-spore forming.
What is an example of spore forming bacteria?
Clostridium and Bacillus species
True or false: all staphylococci are coagulase positive
False: they are all catalase positive
What is special about all Staphylococci being catalase positive?
This allows us to differentiate Staph from all other gram positive cocci.
What does catalase do?
Catalase is an enzyme that detoxifies reactive oxygen species (ROS) by reducing hydrogen peroxide to water and oxygen.
How do you perform a catalase test?
Add 3% hydrogen peroxide to a culture/suspended cells. Observe for bubbling.
Signs of a positive catalase test
Bubbling
Signs of a negative catalase test. What species would this indicate?
No bubbling; may indicate Streptococci or Enterococci
What are two Staphylococci phenotypes on blood agar?
- Pigment production: S. aureus produces gold-colored colonies, S. epidermis produces white-colored colonies
- Hemolysis (S. aureus does beta and S. epidermidis does gamma)
S. aureus hemolysis
Beta hemolysis
S. epidermidis hemolysis
Gamma (none)
What is coagulase?
Bacterial protein that causes clotting of blood plasma
How do you perform the coagulase test?
Mix bacteria with rabbit plasma on glass slide or in tube, look for clumping/clot formation
True or false: S. aureus is the most medically important CoPS.
True; all other CoPS species usually infect animals
Staphylococci are ____ ____, but only S. aureus can perform ____ fermentation.
Facultative anaerobes; mannitol
Acidic fermentation products
energy and lactic acid
True or false: Majority of CoNS can ferment mannitol
False, they cannot
What are some characteristics of Mannitol Salt Agar?
- Selective and differential medium
- Contains essential nutrients and mannitol
- High salt concentration (7.5% NaCl)
- Contains phenol red (pH indicator)
True or false: on a mannitol salt agar plate, S. aureus will indicate a yellow to red color change.
False: red to yellow
True or false: on a mannitol salt agar plate, S. epidermis will not indicate a color change and the plate will stay red
True
What makes Staphylococci “hardy”?
- Halotolerant
- Wide temp (10-45ºC) and pH(4.0 - 9.0) ranges
- growth with low water activity
Halotolerant
Can grow under high concentration of salt
Where do reactive oxygen species come from?
Can be self generated by aerobic respiration or they can come from immune cells
Where can you find coagulase in Staphylococci?
Surface bound or extracellularly
What does surface bound coagulase do?
Cleaves fibrinogen, resulting in fibrin precipitating out of solution to form clot
What does extracellular coagulase do?
Binds prothrombin, cleaves fibrinogen, fibrin precipitates out
When S. aureus ferments ____, this results in the production of ___ ___, which will change the __ indicator from red to yellow color
mannitol; lactic acid; pH
What are some rapid diagnostic methods for differentiating S. aureus?
- Molecular (PCR to amplify genes inherent to Staph genome)
2. Proteomics (ex. mass spectrometry to look at mass/charge ratio of ionized proteins)
What gives S. aureus colonies their characteristic gold color?
Staphyloxanthin (carotenoid pigment)
True or false: staphyloxanthin is mainly a pigment and does not have a major function
False: is also a virulence factor
In S. aureus, __-hemolysin is secreted and forms pores in erythrocytes, resulting in __-hemolysis
alpha; beta
What can S. aureus colonize on the human body?
Skin and mucosa of asymptomatic individuals; anterior nares; hand; perineum; pharynx
True or false: If you are a nasal carrier of S. aureus, you have a negligibly higher chance of having S. aureus colonizing other sites of the body.
False: being a carrier significantly increases chance
What are the three nasal carriage patterns in healthy individuals?
- non-carriage
- intermittent
- persistent
What does MSCRAMM stand for?
Microbial Surface Components Recognizing Adhesive Matrix Molecules
What does SERAM stand for?
Secretable Expanded Repertoire Adhesive Molecule
What are some examples of S. aureus MSCRAMM?
Fibronectin binding protein; Protein A
What are some examples of S. aureus SERAM?
Extracellular adherence protein (Eap); extracellular matrix binding protein (Emp); Coagulase (Coa)
What role do teichoic acids play in S. aureus?
It is a cell wall component that mediates host cell adherence
What does S. aureus Protein A bind to?
- von Willebrand factor (vWF), which helps to stick platelets together and adhere to the walls of blood vessels at the site of a wound
- Fc portion of antibodies
What does S. aureus Eap bind to in the host?
fibrinogen and fibronectin
S. aureus has 4 virulence factors, which are:
- Adhesins
- Invasins
- Immune evasion
- Miscellaneous toxins (pyogenic)
What are the two major classes of S. aureus adhesins?
- MSCRAMM
2. SERAM