The pneumococcal cell envelope stress-sensing system LiaFSR is activated by murein hydrolases and lipid II-interacting antibiotics.
Abstract
In the Firmicutes, two-component regulatory systems of the LiaSR type sense and orchestrate the response to various agents that perturb cell envelope functions, in particular lipid II cycle inhibitors. In the current study, we found that the corresponding system in Streptococcus pneumoniae displays similar properties but, in addition, responds to cell envelope stress elicited by murein hydrolases. During competence for genetic transformation, pneumococci attack and lyse noncompetent siblings present in the same environment. This phenomenon, termed fratricide, increases the efficiency of horizontal gene transfer in vitro and is believed to stimulate gene exchange also under natural conditions. Lysis of noncompetent target cells is mediated by the putative murein hydrolase CbpD, the key effector of the fratricide mechanism, and the autolysins LytA and LytC. To avoid succumbing to their own lysins, competent attacker cells must possess a protective mechanism rendering them immune. The most important component of this mechanism is ComM, an integral membrane protein of unknown function that is expressed only in competent cells. Here, we show that a second layer of self-protection is provided by the pneumococcal LiaFSR system, which ...Continue Reading
References
An rpsL cassette, janus, for gene replacement through negative selection in Streptococcus pneumoniae
Citations
Contributions of the σ(W) , σ(M) and σ(X) regulons to the lantibiotic resistome of Bacillus subtilis
Regulation of pneumococcal epigenetic and colony phases by multiple two-component regulatory systems
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