title: The galU gene expression in Streptococcus pneumoniae.
abstract: The polysaccharide capsule of Streptococcus pneumoniae is the main virulence factor making the bacterium resistant to phagocytosis. The galU gene of S. pneumoniae encodes a UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase absolutely required for capsule biosynthesis. In silico analyses indicated that the galU gene is co-transcribed with the gpdA gene, and four putative promoter regions located upstream of gpdA were predicted. One of them behaved as a functional promoter in a promoter reporter system. It is conceivable that the sequence responsible for initiating transcription of gpdA-galU operon is an extended -10 site TATGATA(T/G)AAT. Semi-quantitative real-time reverse transcription PCR experiments indicated that galU was expressed mainly in the exponential phase of growth.
authors.affiliation: Cátedra de Microbiología, Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bonofiglio
authors.forename: Ernesto
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: García
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mollerach
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D001483:Base Sequence; D003198:Computer Simulation; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D005993:Glycerolphosphate Dehydrogenase / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013296:Streptococcus pneumoniae / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D005957:UTP-Glucose-1-Phosphate Uridylyltransferase / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D005993:Glycerolphosphate Dehydrogenase; C096203:glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (NAD(P)+); D005957:UTP-Glucose-1-Phosphate Uridylyltransferase