Defective contributes to increased membrane fluidity and cell wall thickening in with high-level daptomycin resistance.

UNLABELLED

Daptomycin is a membrane-targeting last-resort antimicrobial therapeutic for the treatment of infections caused by methicillin- and/or vancomycin-resistant . In the rare event of failed daptomycin therapy, the source of resistance is often attributable to mutations directly within the membrane phospholipid biosynthetic pathway of or in the regulatory systems that control cell envelope response and membrane homeostasis. Here we describe the structural changes to the cell envelope in a daptomycin-resistant isolate of strain N315 that has acquired mutations in the genes most commonly reported associated with daptomycin resistance: , , and . In addition to the decreased phosphatidylglycerol (PG) levels that are the hallmark of daptomycin resistance, the mutant with high-level daptomycin resistance had increased branched-chain fatty acids (BCFAs) in its membrane lipids, increased membrane fluidity, and increased cell wall thickness. However, the successful utilization of isotope-labeled straight-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in lipid synthesis suggested that the aberrant BCFA:SCFA ratio arose from upstream alteration in fatty acid synthesis rather than a structural preference in PgsA. Transcriptomics studies revealed that expression of pyruvate dehydrogenase () was suppressed in the daptomycin-resistant isolate, which is known to increase BCFA levels. While complementation with an additional copy of had no effect, complementation of the mutation resulted in increased PG formation, reduction in cell wall thickness, restoration of normal BCFA levels, and increased daptomycin susceptibility. Collectively, these results demonstrate that contributes to daptomycin resistance through its influence on membrane fluidity and cell wall thickness, in addition to phosphatidylglycerol levels.

IMPORTANCE

The cationic lipopeptide antimicrobial daptomycin has become an essential tool for combating infections with that display reduced susceptibility to β-lactams or vancomycin. Since daptomycin's activity is based on interaction with the negatively charged membrane of , routes to daptomycin-resistance occur through mutations in the lipid biosynthetic pathway surrounding phosphatidylglycerols and the regulatory systems that control cell envelope homeostasis. Therefore, there are many avenues to achieve daptomycin resistance and several different, and sometimes contradictory, phenotypes of daptomycin-resistant , including both increased and decreased cell wall thickness and membrane fluidity. This study is significant because it demonstrates the unexpected influence of a lipid biosynthesis gene, , on membrane fluidity and cell wall thickness in with high-level daptomycin resistance.