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Abstract
Over the past century, the rapidly rising rates of antibiotics resistance has led a global health crisis being linked with an estimated over 2.5 million infections and 35,000 deaths in the United States from bacteria such as methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). MRSA infections have been linked lipid rich environments such as skin and heart presenting unexplored impacts on biofilm formation. This study investigates the role of palmitic (16:0) and oleic acid (18:1), two straight chain biologically prominent fatty acids (FA), on the biofilm formation of JE2, parent strain of S. aureus, and fakA::Tn linked with reduced exogenous FA incorporation. Additionally, growth curves were performed with oleic acid and three derivative whiles being challenged with daptomycin, an antibiotic for MRSA. The results point towards a FA dependent and mutant effect on for both biofilm formation and growth curves signifying a complex interplay is occurring between these systems.