FIG 5.

The complement-evading S. aureus strain Lowenstein carries a large deletion in the tarS-encoding region. Whole-genome sequencing revealed a 5,621-bp deletion in the tarS-encoding region which includes the 3′ end of tarL₂, scdA, lytS, lytR, and the 5′ end of lrgA. The genetic organization of the WTA tar gene cluster of S. aureus reference strain NCTC 8325 (top) was compared to that of the WTA tar gene cluster of strain Lowenstein (bottom). tarL₂ and lrgA most likely represent pseudogenes in strain Lowenstein (broken arrows). Gene locus numbers are indicated (note that, for some reason, SAOUHSC_002224 is missing in NCTC 8325).