%0 Journal Article %A Singh, Rachna %A Ray, Pallab %A Das, Anindita %A Sharma, Meera %T Enhanced production of exopolysaccharide matrix and biofilm by a menadione-auxotrophic Staphylococcus aureus small-colony variant %D 2010 %J Journal of Medical Microbiology, %V 59 %N 5 %P 521-527 %@ 1473-5644 %R https://doi.org/10.1099/jmm.0.017046-0 %K SCV, small-colony variant %K HRP, horseradish peroxidase %K CLSM, confocal laser-scanning microscopy %K PIA, polysaccharide intercellular adhesin %K WGA, wheatgerm agglutinin %K TCA, tricarboxylic acid %K MBC, minimum bactericidal concentration %K EPS, exopolysaccharide %I Microbiology Society, %X The role of Staphylococcus aureus small-colony variants (SCVs) in the pathogenesis of biofilm-associated infections remains unclear. This study investigated the mechanism behind increased biofilm-forming potential of a menadione-auxotrophic Staphylococcus aureus SCV compared with the wild-type parental strain, as recently reported by our laboratory. SCVs displayed an autoaggregative phenotype, with a greater amount of polysaccharide intercellular adhesin (PIA), significantly reduced tricarboxylic acid cycle activity and a decreased susceptibility to aminoglycosides and cell-wall inhibitors compared with wild-type. The biofilms formed by the SCV were highly structured, consisting of large microcolonies separated by channels, and contained more biomass as well as significantly more PIA than wild-type biofilms. The surface hydrophobicity of the two phenotypes was similar. Thus, the autoaggregation and increased biofilm-forming capacity of menadione-auxotrophic Staphylococcus aureus SCVs in this study was related to the enhanced production of PIA in these variants. %U https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/jmm/10.1099/jmm.0.017046-0