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Journal of Bacteriology, March 2007, p. 2497-2509, Vol. 189, No. 6
0021-9193/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.01429-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

RR06 Activates Transcription of spr1996 and cbpA in Streptococcus pneumoniae{triangledown}

Zhuo Ma and Jing-Ren Zhang*

Center for Immunology and Microbial Disease, Albany Medical College, Albany, New York 12208

Received 8 September 2006/ Accepted 5 January 2007

Streptococcus pneumoniae colonizes at the nasopharynx of humans and is able to disseminate and cause various infections. The hallmark of pneumococcal disease is rapid bacterial replication in different tissue sites leading to intense inflammation. The genetic basis of pneumococcal adaptation to different host niches remains sketchy. In this study, we investigated the regulatory effect of RR06, a response regulator protein, on gene expression of S. pneumoniae. Microarray and Northern blot analyses showed that RR06 is specifically required for transcription of spr1996 and cbpA. While the function of Spr1996 is unknown, CbpA has been well characterized as a surface-exposed protective antigen and a virulence factor of S. pneumoniae. A recombinant form of RR06 was able to bind to a 19-bp conserved sequence shared by the spr1996 and cbpA promoter regions. Furthermore, inactivation of rr06 resulted in loss of CbpA expression as detected by antibody staining and bacterial adhesion. CbpA expression was restored in trans by the intact rr06 gene. However, a mutant, RR06(D51A), with a point mutation in the aspartate residue at position 51 (a predicted major phosphorylation site) of RR06, completely abolished the CbpA expression, suggesting that RR06 phosphorylation is required for transcriptional activation of spr1996 and cbpA. Finally, inactivation of rr06 in additional pneumococcal strains also led to the loss of CbpA expression. These data implicate that RR06 activates the expression of spr1996 and cbpA in many other pneumococcal strains.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Center for Immunology and Microbial Disease, Albany Medical College, M/C 151, Room MS453, 47 New Scotland Avenue, Albany, NY 12208. Phone: (518) 262-6412. Fax: (518) 262-6161. E-mail: zhangj{at}mail.amc.edu.

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 12 January 2007.

Journal of Bacteriology, March 2007, p. 2497-2509, Vol. 189, No. 6
0021-9193/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.01429-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Rosch, J. W., Mann, B., Thornton, J., Sublett, J., Tuomanen, E. (2008). Convergence of Regulatory Networks on the Pilus Locus of Streptococcus pneumoniae. Infect. Immun. 76: 3187-3196 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Standish, A. J., Stroeher, U. H., Paton, J. C. (2007). The Pneumococcal Two-Component Signal Transduction System RR/HK06 Regulates CbpA and PspA by Two Distinct Mechanisms. J. Bacteriol. 189: 5591-5600 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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