Environmental and nutritional factors that affect growth and metabolism of the pneumococcal serotype 2 strain D39 and its nonencapsulated derivative strain R6.

ABSTRACT: Links between carbohydrate metabolism and virulence in Streptococcus pneumoniae have been recurrently established. To investigate these links further we developed a chemically defined medium (CDM) and standardized growth conditions that allowed for high growth yields of the related pneumococcal strains D39 and R6. The utilization of the defined medium enabled the evaluation of different environmental and nutritional factors on growth and fermentation patterns under controlled conditions of pH, temperature and gas atmosphere. The same growth conditions impacted differently on the nonencapsulated R6, and its encapsulated progenitor D39. A semi-aerobic atmosphere and a raised concentration of uracil, a fundamental component of the D39 capsule, improved considerably D39 growth rate and biomass

SUBMITTER: Carvalho SM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3591343 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature