Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology (Dec 2015)

The regulation of the AdcR regulon in Streptococcus pneumoniae depends both on Zn2+- and Ni2+ -availability

  • Irfan eManzoor,
  • Irfan eManzoor,
  • Sulman eShafeeq,
  • Sulman eShafeeq,
  • Muhammad eAfzal,
  • Muhammad eAfzal,
  • Oscar P. Kuipers

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fcimb.2015.00091
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 5

Abstract

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By using a transcriptomic approach, we have elucidated the effect of Ni2+ on the global gene expression of S. pneumoniae D39 by identifying several differentially expressed genes/operons in the presence of a high extracellular concentration of Ni2+. The genes belonging to the AdcR regulon (adcRCBA, adcAII-phtD, phtA, phtB, and phtE) and the PsaR regulon (pcpA, prtA, and psaBCA) were highly upregulated in the presence of Ni2+. We have further studied the role of Ni2+ in the regulation of the AdcR regulon by using ICP-MS analysis, electrophoretic mobility shift assays and transcriptional lacZ-reporter studies, and demonstrate that Ni2+ is directly involved in the derepression of the AdcR regulon via the Zn2+-dependent repressor AdcR, and has an opposite effect on the expression of the AdcR regulon compared to Zn2+.

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