title: Rewiring the Pneumococcal Cell Cycle with Serine/Threonine- and Tyrosine-kinases.
abstract: Over the past decade, Streptococcus pneumoniae (the pneumococcus) has gained prominence as a model for studying the bacterial cell cycle. This important human pathogen possesses a characteristic diplo-ovococcal cell shape and produces a protective polysaccharide capsule required for virulence, and it has been used to investigate natural genetic transformation. Recent advances have demonstrated that the pneumococcus has evolved phosphorylation-dependent regulatory mechanisms dedicated to controlling cell division and ensuring the concealment of the newborn cells by the capsule. In this review, I survey the role of the only two serine/threonine- (StkP) and tyrosine-kinases (CpsD) of the pneumococcus and discuss the existence of interconnected phosphorylation networks coordinating cell division and morphogenesis with key aspects of the cell cycle.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Microbiology and Structural Biochemistry, UMR 5086, Université Lyon 1, CNRS, IBCP building, 7 passage du Vercors, 69367 Lyon Cedex 07, France. Electronic address: c.grangeasse@ibcp.fr.
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Grangeasse
mesh_terms: D016667:Bacterial Capsules / Q000378:metabolism; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000502:physiology*; D002455:Cell Division / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D010766:Phosphorylation; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D013296:Streptococcus pneumoniae / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases
keywords: Streptococcus pneumoniae; bacterial cell cycle; cell division; cell morphogenesis; polysaccharide capsule biosynthesis and export; protein phosphorylation