Intraspecific cooperation allows the survival of Staphylococcus aureus staff: a novel strategy for disease relapse

Abstract Background The contribution of interspecies interactions between coinfecting pathogens to chronic refractory infection by affecting pathogenicity is well established. However, little is known about the impact of intraspecific interactions on infection relapse, despite the cross-talk of different strains within one species is more common in clinical infection. We reported a case of chronic refractory pulmonary infection relapse, caused by two methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) strains (SA01 and SA02) and revealed a novel strategy for relapse via intraspecific cooperation. Methods The hemolytic ability, growth curve, biofilm formation, virulence genes and response of G. mellonella larvae to S. aureus infection were analysed to confirm this hypothesis. Results SA02 hemolytic activity was inhibited by SA01, along with the expression of hemolysin genes and the virulence factor Hla. Additionally, SA01 significantly enhanced the biofilm formation of SA02. AIP-RNAIII may be a possible pathway for this interaction. Compared with mono-infection, a worse outcome (decreased larval survival and increased microbial burden) of the two MSSA strains coinfected with G. mellonella confirmed that intraspecific interactions indeed enhanced bacterial survival in vivo. Conclusion The intraspecific interaction of S. aureus could lead to chronic refractory infection via pathogenicity changes.