Manganese Detoxification by MntE Is Critical for Resistance to Oxidative Stress and Virulence of Staphylococcus aureus

Manganese (Mn) is an essential micronutrient critical for the pathogenesis of , a significant cause of human morbidity and mortality. Paradoxically, excess Mn is toxic; therefore, maintenance of intracellular Mn homeostasis is required for survival. Here we describe a Mn exporter in , MntE, which is a member of the cation diffusion facilitator (CDF) protein family and conserved among Gram-positive pathogens. Upregulation of transcription in response to excess Mn is dependent on the presence of MntR, a transcriptional repressor of the Mn uptake system. Inactivation of or leads to reduced growth in media supplemented with Mn, demonstrating MntE is required for detoxification of excess Mn. Inactivation of results in elevated levels of intracellular Mn, but reduced intracellular iron (Fe) levels, supporting the hypothesis that MntE functions as a Mn efflux pump and Mn efflux influences Fe homeostasis. Strains inactivated for are more sensitive to the oxidants NaOCl and paraquat, indicating Mn homeostasis is critical for resisting oxidative stress. Furthermore, and are required for full virulence of during infection, suggesting experiences Mn toxicity Combined, these data support a model in which MntR controls Mn homeostasis by balancing transcriptional repression of and induction of , both of which are critical for pathogenesis. Thus, Mn efflux contributes to bacterial survival and virulence during infection, establishing MntE as a potential antimicrobial target and expanding our understanding of Mn homeostasis. Manganese (Mn) is generally viewed as a critical nutrient that is beneficial to pathogenic bacteria due to its function as an enzymatic cofactor and its capability of acting as an antioxidant; yet paradoxically, high concentrations of this transition metal can be toxic. In this work, we demonstrate utilizes the cation diffusion facilitator (CDF) family protein MntE to alleviate Mn toxicity through efflux of excess Mn. Inactivation of leads to a significant reduction in resistance to oxidative stress and mediated mortality within a mouse model of systemic infection. These results highlight the importance of MntE-mediated Mn detoxification in intracellular Mn homeostasis, resistance to oxidative stress, and virulence. Therefore, this establishes MntE as a potential target for development of anti- therapeutics.