Competence for genetic transformation in encapsulated strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae: two allelic variants of the peptide pheromone.
The nucleotide sequence of comC, the gene encoding the 17-residue competence-stimulating peptide (CSP) of Streptococcus pneumoniae (L. S. Havarstein, G. Coomaraswamy, and D. A. Morrison, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 92:11140-11144, 1995) was determined with 42 encapsulated strains of different serotypes. A new allele, comC2, was found in 13 strains, including the type 3 Avery strain, A66, while all others carried a gene (now termed comC1) identical to that originally described for strain Rx1. The predicted mature product of comC2 is also a heptadecapeptide but differs from that of comC1 at eight residues. Both CSP-1 and CSP-2 synthetic peptides were used to induce competence in the 42 strains; 48% of the strains became competent after the addition of the synthetic peptide, whereas none were transformable without the added peptides.
Pozzi
G
G
Sezione di Microbiologia, Dipartimento di Scienze Chirurgiche, Universitá di Cagliara, Italy. pozzi@unica.it
Masala
L
L
Iannelli
F
F
Manganelli
R
R
Havarstein
L S
LS
Piccoli
L
L
Simon
D
D
Morrison
D A
DA
D000483:Alleles; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D016667:Bacterial Capsules; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010675:Pheromones / Q000235:genetics*; D017385:Sequence Homology; D013045:Species Specificity; D013296:Streptococcus pneumoniae / Q000235:genetics*; D014170:Transformation, Genetic
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; C061262:ComA protein, Bacteria; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D010675:Pheromones