Alternative Transcription Factor ς B Is Involved in Regulation of Biofilm Expression in a Staphylococcus aureus Mucosal Isolate

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Abstract
Osmotic stress was found to induce biofilm formation in aStaphylococcus aureus mucosal isolate. Inactivation of a global regulator of the bacterial stress response, the alternative transcription factor ςB, resulted in a biofilm-negative phenotype and loss of salt-induced biofilm production. Complementation of the mutant strain with an expression plasmid encoding ςB completely restored the wild-type phenotype. The combined data suggest a critical role of ςB in S. aureus biofilm regulation under environmental stress conditions.