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. 2025 Apr;17(2):211-219.
doi: 10.18502/ijm.v17i2.18394.

Insights into global transcriptomic profile of biofilm producing Staphylococcus aureus clinical isolates from chronic foot ulcers

Kumar Ebineshan  1 , Aparna Srikantam  2 , Michael Sukumar Pallapati  1
Affiliations

Insights into global transcriptomic profile of biofilm producing Staphylococcus aureus clinical isolates from chronic foot ulcers

Kumar Ebineshan et al. Iran J Microbiol. 2025 Apr.

Abstract

Background and objectives: Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is one of the predominant biofilm producing pathogen in leprosy foot ulcer (LFU). The objective of this study was to identify the transcriptome profile through Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) approach in mature biofilm of leprosy foot ulcer isolate of S. aureus.

Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from July 2019 to May 2022 and a total of twenty-seven S. aureus isolates were collected from the foot ulcers of leprosy patients. All S. aureus isolates were screened for biofilm formation in vitro. Initially, two potential biofilm producing isolates and two planktonic cells were selected for transcriptome comparison.

Results: With reference to transcriptome profile, out of 2,842 genes, 2,688 genes in mature biofilm and 2,685 genes in planktonic cells were expressed. Among them, forty-five differentially expressed genes with 32 and 13 genes showing up and down regulation respectively were obtained.

Conclusion: The research emphasizes the need for continued exploration into the mechanisms of biofilm formation by S. aureus, particularly in the context of leprosy foot ulcers. Understanding these pathways not only aids in grasping the complexity of chronic infections but also paves the way for innovative therapeutic approaches aimed at mitigating biofilm-related complications in clinical settings.

Keywords: Biofilm; Confocal microscopy; Leprosy foot ulcer; Staphylococcus aureus; Transcriptome.

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Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
A. Leprosy foot ulcer B. 3D view of biofilm under confocal scanning microscope C. Total bacterial RNA pattern L: Ladder, C1& C2: planktonic RNA; C3 & C4 Biofilm RNA D. Antibiotic susptibility pattern for all clinical isolates.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Volcano-plot of the complete quantified genes in S. aureus biofilm
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Heat map analysis gene expression across the samples of planktonic (C) vs biofilm cells (D) * hypnotical genes (uncharacterised)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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