This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Jansen, W. T. M. Articles by Schnabel, R. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Jansen, W. T. M. Articles by Schnabel, R.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Infection and Immunity, September 2002, p. 5202-5207, Vol. 70, No. 9
0019-9567/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/IAI.70.9.5202-5207.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Hydrogen Peroxide-Mediated Killing of Caenorhabditis elegans by Streptococcus pyogenes

GBF-National Research Center for Biotechnology, 38124 Braunschweig,¹ Institut für Genetik, TU Braunschweig, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany²

Received 22 March 2002/ Returned for modification 26 April 2002/ Accepted 23 May 2002

Caenorhabditis elegans is currently introduced as a new, facile, and cheap model organism to study the pathogenesis of gram-negative bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. The mechanisms of killing involve either diffusible exotoxins or infection-like processes. Recently, it was shown that also some gram-positive bacteria kill C. elegans, although the precise mechanisms of killing remained open. We examined C. elegans as a pathogenesis model for the gram-positive bacterium Streptococcus pyogenes, a major human pathogen capable of causing a wide spectrum of diseases. We demonstrate that S. pyogenes kills C. elegans, both on solid and in liquid medium. Unlike P. aeruginosa and S. enterica serovar Typhimurium, the killing by S. pyogenes is solely mediated by hydrogen peroxide. Killing required live streptococci; the killing capacity depends on the amount of hydrogen peroxide produced, and killing can be inhibited by catalase. Major exotoxins of S. pyogenes are not involved in the killing process as confirmed by using specific toxin inhibitors and knockout mutants. Moreover, no accumulation of S. pyogenes in C. elegans is observed, which excludes the involvement of infection-like processes. Preliminary results show that S. pneumoniae can also kill C. elegans by hydrogen peroxide production. Hydrogen peroxide-mediated killing might represent a common mechanism by which gram-positive, catalase-negative pathogens kill C. elegans.

Editor: S. H. E. Kaufmann

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Tsou, C.-C., Chiang-Ni, C., Lin, Y.-S., Chuang, W.-J., Lin, M.-T., Liu, C.-C., Wu, J.-J. (2008). An Iron-Binding Protein, Dpr, Decreases Hydrogen Peroxide Stress and Protects Streptococcus pyogenes against Multiple Stresses. Infect. Immun. 76: 4038-4045 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Chavez, V., Mohri-Shiomi, A., Maadani, A., Vega, L. A., Garsin, D. A. (2007). Oxidative Stress Enzymes Are Required for DAF-16-Mediated Immunity Due to Generation of Reactive Oxygen Species by Caenorhabditis elegans. Genetics 176: 1567-1577 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• van den Berg, M. C. W., Woerlee, J. Z., Ma, H., May, R. C. (2006). Sex-Dependent Resistance to the Pathogenic Fungus Cryptococcus neoformans. Genetics 173: 677-683 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Mylonakis, E., Aballay, A. (2005). Worms and Flies as Genetically Tractable Animal Models To Study Host-Pathogen Interactions. Infect. Immun. 73: 3833-3841 [Full Text]  
• Moy, T. I., Mylonakis, E., Calderwood, S. B., Ausubel, F. M. (2004). Cytotoxicity of Hydrogen Peroxide Produced by Enterococcus faecium. Infect. Immun. 72: 4512-4520 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Bolm, M., Jansen, W. T. M., Schnabel, R., Chhatwal, G. S. (2004). Hydrogen Peroxide-Mediated Killing of Caenorhabditis elegans: a Common Feature of Different Streptococcal Species. Infect. Immun. 72: 1192-1194 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Lithgow, G. J. (2003). Does Anti-Aging Equal Anti-Microbial?. Sci Aging Knowl Environ 2003: pe16-pe16 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Sifri, C. D., Begun, J., Ausubel, F. M., Calderwood, S. B. (2003). Caenorhabditis elegans as a Model Host for Staphylococcus aureus Pathogenesis. Infect. Immun. 71: 2208-2217 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Pulliainen, A. T., Haataja, S., Kahkonen, S., Finne, J. (2003). Molecular Basis of H2O2 Resistance Mediated by Streptococcal Dpr. DEMONSTRATION OF THE FUNCTIONAL INVOLVEMENT OF THE PUTATIVE FERROXIDASE CENTER BY SITE-DIRECTED MUTAGENESIS IN STREPTOCOCCUS SUIS. J. Biol. Chem. 278: 7996-8005 [Abstract] [Full Text]