MazF toxin causes alterations in Staphylococcus aureus transcriptome, translatome and proteome that underlie bacterial dormancy

Antibiotic resistance is a serious problem which may be caused by bacterial dormancy. It has been suggested that bacterial toxin–antitoxin systems induce dormancy. We analyzed the genome-wide role of Staphylococcus aureus endoribonuclease toxin MazF using RNA-Seq, Ribo-Seq and quantitative proteomics. We characterized changes in transcriptome, translatome and proteome caused by MazF, and proposed that MazF decreases translation directly by cleaving mRNAs, and indirectly, by decreasing translation factors and by promoting ribosome hibernation. Important pathways affected during the early stage of MazF induction were identified: MazF increases cell wall thickness and decreases cell division; MazF activates SsrA-system which rescues stalled ribosomes, appearing as a result of MazF mRNA cleavage. These pathways may be promising targets for new antibacterial drugs that prevent bacteria dormancy. Finally, we described the overall impact of MazF on S. aureus cell physiology, and propose one of the mechanisms by which MazF might regulate cellular changes leading to dormancy.