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Protein Serine/Threonine Kinase StkP Positively Controls Virulence and Competence in Streptococcus pneumoniae

Jose Echenique,^1, Aras Kadioglu,² Susana Romao,¹ Peter W. Andrew,² and Marie-Claude Trombe^1*

Laboratoire d’Interactions et Signalisation Cellulaire: Relation Hôte-Pathogène, Institut Louis Bugnard, Centre Hospitalo Universitaire de Rangueil, Université Paul Sabatier, 31403 Toulouse Cedex, France,¹ Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 9HN, United Kingdom²

Received 11 November 2003/ Returned for modification 11 December 2003/ Accepted 16 January 2004

In the Streptococcus pneumoniae genome, stkP, encoding a membrane-associated serine/threonine kinase, is not redundant (L. Novakova, S. Romao, J. Echenique, P. Branny, and M.-C. Trombe, unpublished results). The data presented here demonstrate that StkP belongs to the signaling network involved in competence triggering in vitro and lung infection and bloodstream invasion in vivo. In competence, functional StkP is required for activation of comCDE upstream of the autoregulated ring orchestrated by the competence-stimulating peptide. This is the first description of positive regulation of comCDE transcription in balance with its repression by CiaRH.

Editor: A. D. O'Brien

Present address: Departmento de Bioquimica Clinica, Facultad de Ciancias Quimicas, Universidad Nacional de Cordoba, Pabellon Argentina, Ciudad Universitaria, CP5000 Cordoba, Argentina.

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