LytA, major autolysin of Streptococcus pneumoniae, requires access to nascent peptidoglycan.

ABSTRACT: The pneumococcal autolysin LytA is a virulence factor involved in autolysis as well as in fratricidal- and penicillin-induced lysis. In this study, we used biochemical and molecular biological approaches to elucidate which factors control the cytoplasmic translocation and lytic activation of LytA. We show that LytA is mainly localized intracellularly, as only a small fraction was found attached to the extracellular cell wall. By manipulating the extracellular concentration of LytA, we found that the cells were protected from lysis during exponential growth, but not in the stationary phase, and that a defined threshold concentration of extracellular LytA dictates the onset of autolysis. Stalling growth through nutrient depletion, or the specific arrest of cell wall synthesis, sensitized cel

SUBMITTER: Mellroth P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3322828 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature