Virulence of Staphylococcus aureus mutants altered in type 5 capsule production

Abstract excerpt

Most clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus produce microcapsules (uronic acid-containing extracellular polysaccharides) that are detectable by serologic methods but are not visible by negative staining. Among the 11 reported serotypes, capsule types 5 and 8 comprise approximately 75% of all isolates. Transposon mutagenesis was performed on S. aureus to create mutants altered in capsule expression. Tn918 was...