{"id":{"repo_id":"uwo","oai_identifier":"oai:uwo.scholaris.ca:20.500.14721/27613"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uwo/oai:uwo.scholaris.ca:20.500.14721/27613","repository":{"repo_id":"uwo","name":"Western University","base_url":"https://uwo.scholaris.ca/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Investigating The Functional Relationships Of RND Efflux Pumps In Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus","abstract":"The RND superfamily of efflux pumps plays vital roles in the intrinsic defence mechanisms of bacterial pathogens. The staphylococci have two genes encoding RND transporters; farE, which promotes efflux of antimicrobial fatty acids, and an uncharacterized gene we have named femT. Although RND pumps are known to contribute to maintenance of cellular homeostasis and antimicrobial resistance, the function of FemT, and the relationship between FemT and FarE in staphylococci have not been identified. Using established assays, we have tested the phenotype of a femT deletion mutant. Here, we show that this mutant is more susceptible to lysostaphin, vancomycin and oxacillin, and grows faster in Mueller-Hinton broth. Most notably, when evaluating the relationship between these transporters, inducible expression of FarE in fatty acids was abolished in FemT-deficient mutants. These findings suggest an interplay between the two transporters, and cumulatively, represent the first description of both systems operating together in S. aureus.","abstract_html":"The RND superfamily of efflux pumps plays vital roles in the intrinsic defence mechanisms of bacterial pathogens. The staphylococci have two genes encoding RND transporters; farE, which promotes efflux of antimicrobial fatty acids, and an uncharacterized gene we have named femT. Although RND pumps are known to contribute to maintenance of cellular homeostasis and antimicrobial resistance, the function of FemT, and the relationship between FemT and FarE in staphylococci have not been identified. Using established assays, we have tested the phenotype of a femT deletion mutant. Here, we show that this mutant is more susceptible to lysostaphin, vancomycin and oxacillin, and grows faster in Mueller-Hinton broth. Most notably, when evaluating the relationship between these transporters, inducible expression of FarE in fatty acids was abolished in FemT-deficient mutants. These findings suggest an interplay between the two transporters, and cumulatively, represent the first description of both systems operating together in S. aureus.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Halucha, Jamie N"],"institution":"The University of Western Ontario","degree_name":"M Sc","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":"Microbiology and Immunology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["McGavin, Martin J."],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2017,"date_issued":"2017-10-05","date_published":"2017-10-05","updated_at":"2026-07-27T21:56:11Z","subjects":["Staphylococci","USA300","MRSA","RND Protein","Redundancy","Efflux Pumps"],"languages":["en_ca"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14721/27613","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["McGavin, Martin J."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Halucha, Jamie N"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2025-07-10T15:31:05Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-07-10T15:31:05Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2017-10-05"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["The University of Western Ontario"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Microbiology and Immunology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M Sc"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Staphylococci","USA300","MRSA","RND Protein","Redundancy","Efflux Pumps"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en_ca"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14721/27613"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["The thesis cover page in the PDF document includes references to Western University’s previous institutional repository platform, known as Scholarship@Western, and links to that platform (beginning with ir.lib.uwo.ca). In citing or referring to this thesis, use the DOI or handle from this page instead. Sample citation: Author name, \"Thesis title.\" (Year). Western University Open Repository. https://doi.org/10.71858/123456."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The RND superfamily of efflux pumps plays vital roles in the intrinsic defence mechanisms of bacterial pathogens. The staphylococci have two genes encoding RND transporters; farE, which promotes efflux of antimicrobial fatty acids, and an uncharacterized gene we have named femT. Although RND pumps are known to contribute to maintenance of cellular homeostasis and antimicrobial resistance, the function of FemT, and the relationship between FemT and FarE in staphylococci have not been identified. Using established assays, we have tested the phenotype of a femT deletion mutant. Here, we show that this mutant is more susceptible to lysostaphin, vancomycin and oxacillin, and grows faster in Mueller-Hinton broth. Most notably, when evaluating the relationship between these transporters, inducible expression of FarE in fatty acids was abolished in FemT-deficient mutants. These findings suggest an interplay between the two transporters, and cumulatively, represent the first description of both systems operating together in S. aureus."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Investigating The Functional Relationships Of RND Efflux Pumps In Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["McGavin, Martin J."],"dc:creator":["Halucha, Jamie N"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2025-07-10T15:31:05Z"],"dc:date.available":["2025-07-10T15:31:05Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2017-10-05"],"dc:description":["The thesis cover page in the PDF document includes references to Western University’s previous institutional repository platform, known as Scholarship@Western, and links to that platform (beginning with ir.lib.uwo.ca). In citing or referring to this thesis, use the DOI or handle from this page instead. Sample citation: Author name, \"Thesis title.\" (Year). Western University Open Repository. https://doi.org/10.71858/123456."],"dc:description.abstract":["The RND superfamily of efflux pumps plays vital roles in the intrinsic defence mechanisms of bacterial pathogens. The staphylococci have two genes encoding RND transporters; farE, which promotes efflux of antimicrobial fatty acids, and an uncharacterized gene we have named femT. Although RND pumps are known to contribute to maintenance of cellular homeostasis and antimicrobial resistance, the function of FemT, and the relationship between FemT and FarE in staphylococci have not been identified. Using established assays, we have tested the phenotype of a femT deletion mutant. Here, we show that this mutant is more susceptible to lysostaphin, vancomycin and oxacillin, and grows faster in Mueller-Hinton broth. Most notably, when evaluating the relationship between these transporters, inducible expression of FarE in fatty acids was abolished in FemT-deficient mutants. These findings suggest an interplay between the two transporters, and cumulatively, represent the first description of both systems operating together in S. aureus."],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14721/27613"],"dc:language.iso":["en_ca"],"dc:publisher":["The University of Western Ontario"],"dc:subject":["Staphylococci","USA300","MRSA","RND Protein","Redundancy","Efflux Pumps"],"dc:title":["Investigating The Functional Relationships Of RND Efflux Pumps In Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus"],"dc:type":["thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Microbiology and Immunology"],"thesis:degree_name":["M Sc"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T21:56:11Z"}