The blp bacteriocins of Streptococcus pneumoniae mediate intraspecies competition both in vitro and in vivo.

ABSTRACT: The introduction of the conjugate seven-valent pneumococcal vaccine has led to the replacement of vaccine serotypes with nonvaccine serotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae. This observation implies that intraspecies competition between pneumococci occurs during nasopharyngeal colonization, allowing one strain or set of strains to predominate over others. We investigated the contribution of the blp locus, encoding putative bacteriocins and cognate immunity peptides, to intraspecies competition. We sequenced the relevant regions of the blp locus of a type 6A strain able to inhibit the growth of the type 4 strain, TIGR4, in vitro. Using deletional analysis, we confirmed that inhibitory activity is regulated by the function of the response regulator, BlpR, and requires the two putative bacterioc

SUBMITTER: Dawid S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1828380 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature