Pyruvate Oxidase as a Critical Link between Metabolism and Capsule Biosynthesis in Streptococcus pneumoniae.

ABSTRACT: The pneumococcus is one of the most prodigious producers of hydrogen peroxide amongst bacterial pathogens. Hydrogen peroxide production by the pneumococcus has been implicated in antibiotic synergism, competition between other bacterial colonizers of the nasopharynx, and damage to epithelial cells. However, the role during invasive disease has been less clear with mutants defective in hydrogen peroxide production demonstrating both attenuation and heightened invasive disease capacity depending upon strain and serotype background. This work resolves these conflicting observations by demonstrating that the main hydrogen peroxide producing enzyme of the pneumococcus, SpxB, is required for capsule formation in a strain dependent manner. Capsule production by strains harboring capsules with ace

SUBMITTER: Echlin H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5070856 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature