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Infection and Immunity, August 2008, p. 3587-3594, Vol. 76, No. 8
0019-9567/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.01568-07
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

D-Alanylation of Lipoteichoic Acid Contributes to the Virulence of Streptococcus suis{triangledown}

Nahuel Fittipaldi,1 Tsutomu Sekizaki,2,3 Daisuke Takamatsu,2 Josée Harel,1 María de la Cruz Domínguez-Punaro,1 Sonja Von Aulock,4 Christian Draing,4 Corinne Marois,5 Marylène Kobisch,5 and Marcelo Gottschalk1*

Groupe de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses du Porc and Centre de Recherche en Infectiologie Porcine, Faculté de médecine vétérinaire, Université de Montréal, St-Hyacinthe, Quebec J2S 7C6, Canada,1 Research Team for Bacterial/Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Animal Health, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0856, Japan,2 United Graduate School of Veterinary Sciences, Gifu University, 501-1193 Gifu, Japan,3 Department of Biochemical Pharmacology, University of Konstanz, D-78457 Konstanz, Germany,4 Agence Française de Sécurité Sanitaire des Aliments, Laboratoire d'Études et de Recherches Avicoles et Porcines, Unité de Mycoplasmologie-Bactériologie, 22440 Ploufragan, France5

Received 27 November 2007/ Returned for modification 10 April 2008/ Accepted 6 May 2008

We generated by allelic replacement a {Delta}dltA mutant of a virulent Streptococcus suis serotype 2 field strain and evaluated the contribution of lipoteichoic acid (LTA) D-alanylation to the virulence traits of this swine pathogen and zoonotic agent. The absence of LTA D-alanylation resulted in increased susceptibility to the action of cationic antimicrobial peptides. In addition, and in contrast to the wild-type strain, the {Delta}dltA mutant was efficiently killed by porcine neutrophils and showed diminished adherence to and invasion of porcine brain microvascular endothelial cells. Finally, the {Delta}dltA mutant was attenuated in both the CD1 mouse and porcine models of infection, probably reflecting a decreased ability to escape immune clearance mechanisms and an impaired capacity to move across host barriers. The results of this study suggest that LTA D-alanylation is an important factor in S. suis virulence.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Groupe de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses du Porc and Centre de Recherche en Infectiologie Porcine, Faculté de médecine vétérinaire, Université de Montréal, St-Hyacinthe, QC J2S 7C6, Canada. Phone: (450) 773-8521, ext. 18374. Fax: (450) 778-8108. E-mail: marcelo.gottschalk{at}umontreal.ca

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 12 May 2008.

Editor: V. J. DiRita

Infection and Immunity, August 2008, p. 3587-3594, Vol. 76, No. 8
0019-9567/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.01568-07
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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