Fever-like temperature bursts promote competence development via an HtrA-dependent pathway in Streptococcus pneumoniae.
Streptococcus pneumoniae (the pneumococcus) is well known for its ability to develop competence for natural DNA transformation. Competence development is regulated by an autocatalytic loop driven by variations in the basal level of transcription of the comCDE and comAB operons. These genes are part...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2023-09-01
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| Series: | PLoS Genetics |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1010946 |
| _version_ | 1797667826192875520 |
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| author | Mickaël Maziero David Lane Patrice Polard Mathieu Bergé |
| author_facet | Mickaël Maziero David Lane Patrice Polard Mathieu Bergé |
| author_sort | Mickaël Maziero |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Streptococcus pneumoniae (the pneumococcus) is well known for its ability to develop competence for natural DNA transformation. Competence development is regulated by an autocatalytic loop driven by variations in the basal level of transcription of the comCDE and comAB operons. These genes are part of the early gene regulon that controls expression of the late competence genes known to encode the apparatus of transformation. Several stressful conditions are known to promote competence development, although the induction pathways are remain poorly understood. Here we demonstrate that transient temperature elevation induces an immediate increase in the basal expression level of the comCDE operon and early genes that, in turn, stimulates its full induction, including that of the late competence regulon. This thermal regulation depends on the HtrA chaperone/protease and its proteolytic activity. We find that other competence induction stimulus, like norfloxacin, is not conveyed by the HtrA-dependent pathway. This finding strongly suggests that competence can be induced by at least two independent pathways and thus reinforces the view that competence is a general stress response system in the pneumococcus. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T20:20:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-33a9d932c4c748fbad2095ab297ecc61 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1553-7390 1553-7404 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T20:20:12Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS Genetics |
| spelling | doaj.art-33a9d932c4c748fbad2095ab297ecc612023-10-03T05:31:09ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Genetics1553-73901553-74042023-09-01199e101094610.1371/journal.pgen.1010946Fever-like temperature bursts promote competence development via an HtrA-dependent pathway in Streptococcus pneumoniae.Mickaël MazieroDavid LanePatrice PolardMathieu BergéStreptococcus pneumoniae (the pneumococcus) is well known for its ability to develop competence for natural DNA transformation. Competence development is regulated by an autocatalytic loop driven by variations in the basal level of transcription of the comCDE and comAB operons. These genes are part of the early gene regulon that controls expression of the late competence genes known to encode the apparatus of transformation. Several stressful conditions are known to promote competence development, although the induction pathways are remain poorly understood. Here we demonstrate that transient temperature elevation induces an immediate increase in the basal expression level of the comCDE operon and early genes that, in turn, stimulates its full induction, including that of the late competence regulon. This thermal regulation depends on the HtrA chaperone/protease and its proteolytic activity. We find that other competence induction stimulus, like norfloxacin, is not conveyed by the HtrA-dependent pathway. This finding strongly suggests that competence can be induced by at least two independent pathways and thus reinforces the view that competence is a general stress response system in the pneumococcus.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1010946 |
| spellingShingle | Mickaël Maziero David Lane Patrice Polard Mathieu Bergé Fever-like temperature bursts promote competence development via an HtrA-dependent pathway in Streptococcus pneumoniae. PLoS Genetics |
| title | Fever-like temperature bursts promote competence development via an HtrA-dependent pathway in Streptococcus pneumoniae. |
| title_full | Fever-like temperature bursts promote competence development via an HtrA-dependent pathway in Streptococcus pneumoniae. |
| title_fullStr | Fever-like temperature bursts promote competence development via an HtrA-dependent pathway in Streptococcus pneumoniae. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Fever-like temperature bursts promote competence development via an HtrA-dependent pathway in Streptococcus pneumoniae. |
| title_short | Fever-like temperature bursts promote competence development via an HtrA-dependent pathway in Streptococcus pneumoniae. |
| title_sort | fever like temperature bursts promote competence development via an htra dependent pathway in streptococcus pneumoniae |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1010946 |
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