Central role of manganese in regulation of stress responses, physiology, and metabolism in Streptococcus pneumoniae

Abstract

The importance of Mn2+ for pneumococcal physiology and virulence has been studied extensively. However, the specific cellular role(s) for which Mn2+ is required are yet to be fully elucidated. Here, we analyzed the effect of Mn2+ limitation on the transcriptome and proteome of Streptococcus pneumoniae D39. This was carried out by comparing a deletion mutant lacking the solute binding protein of the high-affinity Mn2+ transporter, pneumococcal surface antigen A (PsaA), with its isogenic wild-type counterpart. We provide clear evidence for the Mn2+-dependent regulation of the expression of oxidative-stress-response enzymes SpxB and Mn2+-SodA and virulence-associated genes pcpA and prtA. We als..