title: Identification and characterization of two temperature-induced surface-associated proteins of Streptococcus suis with high homologies to members of the Arginine Deiminase system of Streptococcus pyogenes.
abstract: The present study was performed to identify stress-induced putative virulence proteins of Streptococcus suis. For this, protein expression patterns of streptococci grown at 32, 37, and 42 degrees C were compared by one- and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Temperature shifts from 32 and 37 to 42 degrees C induced expression of two cell wall-associated proteins with apparent molecular masses of approximately 47 and 53 kDa. Amino-terminal sequence analysis of the two proteins indicated homologies of the 47-kDa protein with an ornithine carbamoyltransferase (OCT) from Streptococcus pyogenes and of the 53-kDa protein with the streptococcal acid glycoprotein (SAGP) from S. pyogenes, an arginine deiminase (AD) recently proposed as a putative virulence factor. Cloning and sequencing the genes encoding the putative OCT and AD of S. suis, octS and adiS, respectively, revealed that they had 81.2 (octS) and 80.2% (adiS) identity with the respective genes of S. pyogenes. Both genes belong to the AD system, also found in other bacteria. Southern hybridization analysis demonstrated the presence of the adiS gene in all 42 serotype 2 and 9 S. suis strains tested. In 9 of these 42 strains, selected randomly, we confirmed expression of the AdiS protein, homologous to SAGP, by immunoblot analysis using a specific antiserum against the SAGP of S. pyogenes. In all strains AD activity was detected. Furthermore, by immunoelectron microscopy using the anti-S. pyogenes SAGP antiserum we were able to demonstrate that the AdiS protein is expressed on the streptococcal surface in association with the capsular polysaccharides but is not coexpressed with them.
authors.affiliation: Institut fuer Mikrobiologie und Tierseuchen, Tieraerztliche Hochschule Hannover, Germany.
authors.forename: Nora
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Winterhoff
authors.forename: Ralph
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Goethe
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gruening
authors.forename: Manfred
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rohde
authors.forename: Henryk
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kalisz
authors.forename: Hilde E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Valentin-Weigand
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D016667:Bacterial Capsules / Q000032:analysis; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D006867:Hydrolases / Q000032:analysis* / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D008970:Molecular Weight; D009954:Ornithine Carbamoyltransferase / Q000032:analysis* / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D013297:Streptococcus pyogenes / Q000737:chemistry*; D017011:Streptococcus suis / Q000737:chemistry*; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D006023:Glycoproteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; C045283:SAGP protein, Streptococcus; D009954:Ornithine Carbamoyltransferase; D006867:Hydrolases; C019723:arginine deiminase