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Infection and Immunity, July 2004, p. 3902-3906, Vol. 72, No. 7
0019-9567/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/IAI.72.7.3902-3906.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

The Ami-AliA/AliB Permease of Streptococcus pneumoniae Is Involved in Nasopharyngeal Colonization but Not in Invasive Disease

A. R. Kerr,1 P. V. Adrian,2 S. Estevão,2 R. de Groot,2 G. Alloing,3 J.-P. Claverys,3 T. J. Mitchell,1* and P. W. M. Hermans2

Division of Infection and Immunity, IBLS, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom,1 Department of Pediatrics, Erasmus MC-Sophia, Rotterdam, The Netherlands,2 Laboratoire de Microbiologie et Génétique Moléculaires, CNRS-Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France3

Received 13 February 2004/ Returned for modification 19 March 2004/ Accepted 31 March 2004

The Ami-AliA/AliB oligopeptide permease is an ATP-binding cassette transporter which is found in Streptococcus pneumoniae and which is involved in nutrient uptake. We investigated the role of the three paralogous oligopeptide-binding lipoproteins AmiA, AliA, and AliB by using murine models of pneumococcal colonization and invasive disease. A series of mutants lacking aliA, aliB, and amiA either alone or in combination as double or triple mutations were used. Inoculation of the nasopharynx with a mixture of the obl (oligopeptide-binding lipoprotein-negative) triple-mutant and wild-type (D39) bacteria resulted in significantly smaller numbers of obl bacteria colonizing the nasopharynx. The use of a mixture of individual mutants and wild-type pneumococci revealed that AmiA, AliA, and AliB were all required for successful colonization of the nasopharynx. The obl mutant was more attenuated than the aliB mutant but not the aliA or amiA mutant. Therefore, there is some redundancy in the Ami-AliA/AliB complex in terms of nasopharyngeal colonization, with AliA and AmiA being able to compensate for the removal of AliB. Animals with invasive disease caused by these mutants had survival times, bacterial loads, and inflammatory cytokine production levels similar to those of animals infected with wild-type pneumococci. Our results show that although the Ami-AliA/AliB complex is not required for virulence during pneumococcal pneumonia, it does play a role in colonization of the nasopharynx.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Division of Infection and Immunity, Joseph Black Building, University of Glasgow, University Ave., Glasgow G12 8QQ, United Kingdom. Phone: 44 141 330 3749. Fax: 44 141 330 3727. E-mail: t.mitchell{at}bio.gla.ac.uk.

Editor: J. N. Weiser

Infection and Immunity, July 2004, p. 3902-3906, Vol. 72, No. 7
0019-9567/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/IAI.72.7.3902-3906.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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