Genome-wide identification of Streptococcus pneumoniae genes essential for the development of experimental meningitis
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ABSTRACT: We applied genomic array footprinting (GAF) in the search for genes of S. pneumoniae essential during the establishment and progression of experimental meningitis. Four libraries with a total of 6,000 independent TIGR4 marinerT7 transposon mutants were injected intra-cisternally in rabbits, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was collected after three, nine, and fifteen hours. Microarray analysis of mutant-specific probes from CSF samples and inocula identified 82 genes of which mutants had become attenuated and eleven genes of which mutants had become enriched during infection. Screening results particularly point to an essential role for capsular polysaccharides (cps), nutrient uptake, and metabolism in meningitis. Detailed study on directed mutants of a subset of sixteen GAF targets in an experimental model of rat meningitis revealed that ten were significantly attenuated or enriched during competitive infection. Furthermore, we showed that mutants of adenylosuccinate synthetase (purA), flavodoxin (fld), and the substrate binding protein (livJ) of a branched chain amino acid ABC-transporter were essential for full blown meningitis in a mono-infection setup of rat meningitis. Overall, the GAF screen revealed the general restraint on nutrients encountered by the pneumococcus in CSF, while, except for cps genes, no ‘classic’ virulence factors appeared to be required for infection. This knowledge will contribute to a better understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of pneumococcal meningitis.
ORGANISM(S): Streptococcus pneumoniae
PROVIDER: GSE21729 | GEO | 2010/11/16
SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA127143
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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