icaA Gene of Staphylococcus aureus Responds to NaCl, Leading to Increased Biofilm Formation

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to elucidate the role of the icaA gene in biofilm formation of Staphylococcus aureus exposed to NaCl. The icaA-deletion mutant of S. aureus ATCC 13565 was constructed with the temperature-sensitive plasmid pIMAY. Microtiter plate assays were performed to confirm biofilm formation for both the wild type and the mutant at 0% (control), 2, 4, and 6% NaCl. The microtiter plate assay revealed that biofilm formation by the wild type increased (P < 0.05) as NaCl concentration increased, but biofilm formation of the mutant was not affected by NaCl concentration. Biofilm formation by the mutant was lower (P < 0.05) than that by the wild type. These results indicate that icaA plays an important role in biofilm formation by S. aureus when the pathogen is exposed to NaCl.