title: Influence of proteins Bsp and FemH on cell shape and peptidoglycan composition in group B streptococcus.
abstract: Group B streptococcus (GBS) is surrounded by a capsule. However, little is known about peptidoglycan metabolism in these bacteria. In the present study, a 65 kDa protein was isolated from the culture supernatant of GBS and N-terminally sequenced, permitting isolation of the corresponding gene, termed bsp. The bsp gene was located close to another gene, designated femH, and reverse transcription-PCR revealed a bicistronic transcriptional organization for both genes. The Bsp protein was detected in the culture supernatant from 31 tested clinical isolates of GBS, suggesting a wide distribution of Bsp in these bacteria. Overexpression of bsp resulted in lens-shaped GBS cells, indicating a role for bsp in controlling cell morphology. Insertional disruption of femH resulted in a reduction of the L-alanine content of the peptidoglycan, suggesting that femH is involved in the incorporation of L-alanine residues in the interpeptide chain of the peptidoglycan of GBS.
mesh_terms: D000409:Alanine / Q000032:analysis*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D002473:Cell Wall / Q000737:chemistry*; D017077:Culture Media, Conditioned; D017353:Gene Deletion; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007769:Lactams / Q000494:pharmacology; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016254:Mutagenesis, Insertional; D010457:Peptidoglycan / Q000032:analysis*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013292:Streptococcus agalactiae / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure*
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; C470093:Bsp protein, group B streptococcus; D017077:Culture Media, Conditioned; C470094:FemH protein, group B Streptococcus; D007769:Lactams; D010457:Peptidoglycan; D000409:Alanine