{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,24]],"date-time":"2026-09-24T21:09:24Z","timestamp":1790284164377,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,26]],"date-time":"2025-08-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1756166400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Microbiol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Methicillin-resistant\n                      <jats:italic>Staphylococcus aureus<\/jats:italic>\n                      (MRSA) colonization in the nasal nares significantly contributes to hospital-acquired infections. This poses a global health concern due to its resistance to \u03b2-lactam antibiotics and its virulence mediated by quorum sensing (QS). This study investigates the antimicrobial efficacy of two natural bioactive compounds (BACs)\u2014curcumin and eugenol\u2014against clinical MRSA isolates, specifically focusing on their impact on\n                      <jats:italic>mecA<\/jats:italic>\n                      and\n                      <jats:italic>agrA<\/jats:italic>\n                      gene expression.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Nasal swab samples from 150 patients yielded 53 staphylococcal isolates, among which 25 were identified as MRSA. Three highly resistant isolates (VITKV25, VITKV32, and VITKV39), identified as\n                      <jats:italic>S. aureus<\/jats:italic>\n                      through 16S rRNA gene sequencing, were selected for further analysis. The antibacterial efficacy of curcumin, eugenol, and gallic acid was assessed through agar well diffusion and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) assays. The presence of\n                      <jats:italic>mecA<\/jats:italic>\n                      and\n                      <jats:italic>agrA<\/jats:italic>\n                      genes was detected using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Additionally, the impact of these compounds on\n                      <jats:italic>mecA<\/jats:italic>\n                      and\n                      <jats:italic>agrA<\/jats:italic>\n                      gene expression was assessed using Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR).\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results and discussion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      The isolates exhibited resistance to multiple antibiotics, including ampicillin, oxacillin, vancomycin, cefoxitin, and erythromycin. Curcumin and eugenol distinctly downregulated\n                      <jats:italic>mecA<\/jats:italic>\n                      and\n                      <jats:italic>agrA<\/jats:italic>\n                      expression levels. In particular, curcumin completely suppressed\n                      <jats:italic>mecA<\/jats:italic>\n                      gene expression in VITKV39 (0.0) and\n                      <jats:italic>agrA<\/jats:italic>\n                      expression in VITKV25 and MRSA (ATCC 43300) (0.0 and 0.1, respectively). Eugenol reduced both genes,\n                      <jats:italic>mecA<\/jats:italic>\n                      and\n                      <jats:italic>agrA<\/jats:italic>\n                      , in VITKV32 to 0.01 and 0.02, respectively. These findings highlight the therapeutic potential of curcumin and eugenol as adjuncts to conventional antibiotics by targeting both resistance and virulence pathways in MRSA.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmicb.2025.1643774","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,26]],"date-time":"2025-08-26T04:14:01Z","timestamp":1756181641000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Targeted inhibition of mecA and agrA genes in clinical MRSA isolates by natural bioactive compounds"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"V.","family":"Vinodhini","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"M.","family":"Kavitha","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,26]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"9217014","DOI":"10.1155\/2023\/9217014","article-title":"Genetic identification of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage and its antibiogram among kidney dialysis patients at a tertiary care hospital in AL-Karak, Jordan","volume":"2023","author":"Al-Dmour","year":"2023","journal-title":"Int. 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