Inhibitory effect of probiotic yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae on biofilm formation and expression of α-hemolysin and enterotoxin A genes of Staphylococcus aureus

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Staphylococcus aureus, as an opportunistic pathogen, is the cause of a variety of diseases from mild skin infections to severe invasive infections and food poisoning. Increasing antibiotic resistance in S. aureus isolates has become a major threat to public health. The use of compounds produced by probiotics can be a solution to this problem. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of Saccharomyces cerevisiae on some virulence factors (biofilm, α-hemolysin, and enterotoxin A) of S. aureus. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Supernatant and lysate extracts were prepared from S. cerevisiae S3 culture. Sub-MIC concentrations of both extracts were separately applied to S. aureus ATCC 29213 (methicillin-sensitive S. aureus; MSSA) and S. aureus ATCC 33591 (methicillin-resistant S. aureus; MRSA) strains. Biofilm formation of these strains was measured by microtiter plate assay and expression level of α-hemolysin and enterotoxin A genes (hla and sea, respectively) using real-time PCR technique. RESULTS: The supernatant extract has reduced both biofilm formation and expression of sea and hla genes, while lysate extract had only anti-biofilm effects. The MRSA strain showed more susceptibility to yeast extracts than MSSA strain in all tests. CONCLUSION: The present study exhibited favorable antagonistic effects of S. cerevisiae S3, as a probiotic yeast, on MSSA and MRSA strains. Based on the findings of this study, the compounds produced by this yeast can be used to control S. aureus infections; however, further similar studies should be conducted to confirm the findings of the present study.