Comprehensive evaluation and analysis of the salinity stress response mechanisms based on transcriptome and metabolome of Staphylococcus aureus

Staphylococcus aureus possesses an extraordinary ability to deal with a wide range of osmotic pressure. This study performed transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses on the potential mechanism of gradient salinity stress adaptation in S. aureus ZS01. The results revealed that CPS biosynthetic protein genes were candidate target genes for directly regulating the phenotypic changes of biofilm. Inositol phosphate metabolism was downregulated to reduce the conversion of functional molecules. The gluconeogenesis pathway and histidine synthesis were downregulated to reduce the production of endogenous glucose. The pyruvate metabolism pathway was upregulated to promote the accumulation of succinate. TCA cycle metabolism pathway was downregulated to reduce unnecessary energy loss. l-Proline was accumulated to regulate osmotic pressure. Therefore, these self-protection mechanisms can protect cells from hypertonic environments and help them focus on survival. In addition, we identified ten hub genes. The findings will aid in the prevention and treatment strategies of S. aureus infections.