Pathogenic Microbiology Commons^™

Examination Of Bcaa Transport And Synthesis In Staphylococcus Aureus, Julienne Kaiser

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Staphylococcus aureus is a human pathogen capable of causing infections that range from mild skin and soft tissue infections to severe infections of the bone, muscle, heart, and lung. To survive and thrive in such diverse host environments, S. aureus must maintain sufficient levels of metabolites and cofactors to support virulence determinant production and replication. The branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs; Ile, Leu, Val) represent an important group of nutrients for S. aureus metabolism, as they are required for protein synthesis and synthesis of membrane branched-chain fatty acids (BCFAs), which are important for S. aureus environmental adaptation. Moreover, the BCAAs are …