Exploring the competence stimulating peptide (CSP) N-terminal requirements for effective ComD receptor activation in group1 Streptococcus pneumoniae.

ABSTRACT: The competence stimulating peptide (CSP) plays a key role in the regulation of pneumococcal quorum sensing (QS), a communication system that is critical to the infectivity of pneumococci. CSP functions through binding and activating a transmembrane receptor, ComD. Molecules that can modulate pneumococcal QS through intercepting CSP:ComD interaction may serve as new generation of antibacterial agents to treat pneumococcal infections. In this work, we systematically modified the N-terminus of CSP1, a region that is essential to ComD activation, to identify detailed structural features of the N-terminus that are responsible for its function. Our results revealed structural features that are optimal to achieve receptor activation and structure-activity trends that improve our understanding of

SUBMITTER: Yang Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6656601 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature