title: The YvqE two-component system controls biofilm formation and acid production in Streptococcus pyogenes.
abstract: In Streptococcus pyogenes, proteins involved in determining virulence are controlled by stand-alone response regulators and by two-component regulatory systems. Previous studies reported that, compared to the parental strain, the yvqE sensor knockout strain showed significantly reduced growth and lower virulence. To determine the function of YvqE, we performed biofilm analysis and pH assays on yvqE mutants, and site-directed mutagenesis of YvqE. The yvqE deletion mutant showed a slower acid production rate, indicating that YvqE regulates acid production from sugar fermentation. The mutant strain, in which the Asp(26) residue in YvqE was replaced with Asn, affected biofilm formation, suggesting that this amino acid senses hydrogen ions produced by fermentative sugar metabolism. Signals received by YvqE were directly or indirectly responsible for inducing pilus expression. This study shows that at low environmental pH, biofilm formation in S. pyogenes is mediated by YvqE and suggests that regulation of pilus expression by environmental acidification could be directly under the control of YvqE.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bacteriology, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan.
authors.forename: Masanori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Isaka
authors.affiliation: Department of Bacteriology, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan.
authors.forename: Ichiro
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Tatsuno
authors.affiliation: Department of Safety Research on Blood and Biological Products, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Musashimurayama, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Jun-Ichi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Maeyama
authors.affiliation: Department of Bacteriology, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan.
authors.forename: Hideyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Matsui
authors.affiliation: Department of Bacteriology, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Bacteriology, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan.
authors.forename: Tadao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hasegawa
mesh_terms: D018441:Biofilms / Q000254:growth & development*; D002264:Carboxylic Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D003600:Cytosol / Q000737:chemistry; D004252:DNA Mutational Analysis; D010861:Fimbriae, Bacterial / Q000378:metabolism; D017353:Gene Deletion; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D000071677:Histidine Kinase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed; D050505:Mutant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D013297:Streptococcus pyogenes / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D002264:Carboxylic Acids; D050505:Mutant Proteins; D037521:Virulence Factors; D000071677:Histidine Kinase
keywords: Streptococcus pyogenes; YvqE; two-component system