Translational control of virulence and adaptation in Staphylococcus aureus : roles of uORFs, RNA chaperones and RNA modifications

Presented by Stefano MARZI (IBMC, Strasbourg)

Invited by Jonathan JAGODNIK

Staphylococcus aureus is a major human pathogen that must rapidly adapt to diverse host-associated stresses. Our work focuses on how translational control contributes to this adaptation and to the regulation of virulence. I will present recent results showing that S.aureus uses species-specific translation initiation mechanisms,including extended Shine-Dalgarno interactions and upstream open readingframes, to control the expression of key regulatory and virulence genes.

I will also discuss the role of the RNA chaperone protein S1, which promotes the translation of specific secreted virulence factors by remodeling structured ribosome-binding sites. Finally, I will present how tRNA and rRNA modifications are dynamically regulated under stress conditions and how they affect translation efficiency, fidelity and codon-dependent gene expression. Together, these mechanisms illustrate how S. aureus adapts to the host environment by tuning translation at multiple levels.