Carbonic anhydrase is essential for Streptococcus pneumoniae growth in environmental ambient air.

ABSTRACT: The respiratory tract pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae needs to adapt to the different levels of carbon dioxide (CO(2)) it encounters during transmission, colonization, and infection. Since CO(2) is important for various cellular processes, factors that allow optimal CO(2) sequestering are likely to be important for pneumococcal growth and survival. In this study, we showed that the putative pneumococcal carbonic anhydrase (PCA) is essential for in vitro growth of S. pneumoniae under the CO(2)-poor conditions found in environmental ambient air. Enzymatic analysis showed that PCA catalyzes the reversible hydration of CO(2) to bicarbonate (HCO(3)(-)), an essential step to prevent the cellular release of CO(2). The addition of unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs) reversed the CO(2)-dependent in vi

SUBMITTER: Burghout P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2916381 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature