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Infection and Immunity, August 2002, p. 4389-4398, Vol. 70, No. 8
0019-9567/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/IAI.70.8.4389-4398.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Characterization of Pit, a Streptococcus pneumoniae Iron Uptake ABC Transporter

Jeremy S. Brown,* Sarah M. Gilliland, Javier Ruiz-Albert, and David W. Holden

Centre for Molecular Microbiology and Infection, Department of Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College School of Medicine, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom

Received 14 January 2002/ Returned for modification 20 March 2002/ Accepted 22 May 2002

Bacteria frequently have multiple mechanisms for acquiring iron, an essential micronutrient, from the environment. We have identified a four-gene Streptococcus pneumoniae operon, named pit, encoding proteins with similarity to components of a putative Brachyspira hyodysenteriae iron uptake ABC transporter, Bit. An S. pneumoniae strain containing a defined mutation in pit has impaired growth in medium containing the iron chelator ethylenediamine di-o-hydroxyphenylacetic acid, reduced sensitivity to the iron-dependent antibiotic streptonigrin, and impaired virulence in a mouse model of S. pneumoniae systemic infection. Furthermore, addition of a mutation in pit to a strain containing mutations in the two previously described S. pneumoniae iron uptake ABC transporters, piu and pia, resulted in a strain with impaired growth in two types of iron-deficient medium, a high degree of resistance to streptonigrin, and a reduced rate of iron uptake. Comparison of the susceptibilities to streptonigrin of the individual pit, piu, and pia mutant strains and comparison of the growth in iron-deficient medium and virulence of single and double mutant strains suggest that pia is the dominant iron transporter during in vitro and in vivo growth.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Centre for Molecular Microbiology and Infection, Department of Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College School of Medicine, Flowers Building, Armstrong Rd., London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom. Phone: (44) (20) 7594 3089. Fax: (44) (20) 7594 3076. E-mail: jerry.brown{at}ic.ac.uk.

Editor: E. I. Tuomanen

Infection and Immunity, August 2002, p. 4389-4398, Vol. 70, No. 8
0019-9567/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/IAI.70.8.4389-4398.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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