Antisense yycG modulates the susceptibility of Staphylococcus aureus to hydrogen peroxide via the sarA

BACKGROUND: The infectious pathogen Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is primarily associated with osteomyelitis. Hydrogen peroxide drainage is an effective antimicrobial treatment that has been adopted to combat S. aureus infections. Previous investigations have indicated that the antisense RNA (asRNA) strategy negatively modulates S. aureus YycFG TCS, and it significantly disrupts biofilm formation. However, the effects of the antisense yycG RNA (ASyycG) strategy on the susceptibility of biofilm-producing S. aureus to hydrogen peroxide and the mechanisms underlying this effect have not been elucidated to date. RESULTS: Overexpression of ASyycG inhibited the transcription of biofilm formation-related genes, including sarA and icaA. Additionally, the CFU counts and the live bacterial ratios of ASyycG biofilm-producing S. aureus treated with H(2)O(2) were notably reduced across the groups. Notably, the predicted promoter regions of the sarA and icaA genes were directly regulated by YycF. CONCLUSIONS: ASyycG was observed to sensitize biofilm-producing S. aureus to H(2)O(2) intervention synergistically via the sarA and thus may represent a supplementary strategy for managing osteomyelitis. However, future in-depth studies should attempt to replicate our findings in animal models, such as the rat osteomyelitis model. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12866-021-02218-x.