Donald J. LeBlanc

Genome of the Bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae Strain R6

Streptococcus pneumoniae is among the most significant causes of bacterial disease in humans. Here we report the 2,038,615-bp genomic sequence of the gram-positive bacterium S. pneumoniae R6. Because the R6 strain is avirulent and, more importantly, because it is readily transformed with DNA from homologous species and many heterologous species, it is the principal platform for investigation of the biology of this important pathogen. It is also used as a primary vehicle for genomics-based development of antibiotics for gram-positive bacteria. In our analysis of the genome, we identified a large number of new uncharacterized genes predicted to encode proteins that either reside on the surface of the cell or are secreted. Among those proteins there may be new targets for vaccine and antibiotic development.

Nucleotide Sequence and Analysis of Conjugative Plasmid pVT745

The complete nucleotide sequence and genetic map of pVT745 are presented. The 25-kb plasmid was isolated from Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, a periodontal pathogen. Two-thirds of the plasmid encode functions related to conjugation, replication, and replicon stability. Among potential gene products with a high degree of similarity to known proteins are those associated with plasmid conjugation. It was shown that pVT745 derivatives not only mobilized a coresident nontransmissible plasmid, pMMB67, but also mediated their own conjugative transfer to different A. actinomycetemcomitans strains. However, transfer of pVT745 derivatives from A. actinomycetemcomitans to Escherichia coli JM109 by conjugation was successful only when an E. coli origin of replication was present on the pVT745 construct. Surprisingly, 16 open reading frames encode products of unknown function. The plasmid contains a conserved replication region which belongs to the HAP (Haemophilus-Actinobacillus-Pasteurella) theta replicon family. However, its host range appears to be rather narrow compared to other members of this family. Sequences homologous to pVT745 have previously been detected in the chromosomes of numerous A. actinomycetemcomitans strains. The nature and origin of these homologs are discussed based on information derived from the nucleotide sequence.

Pyruvate Oxidase Is a Determinant of Avery's Rough Morphology

In pioneering studies, Avery et al. identified DNA as the hereditary material (A. T. Avery, C. M. MacLeod, and M. McCarty, J. Exp. Med. 79:137-158, 1944). They demonstrated, by means of variation in colony morphology, that this substance could transform their rough type 2 Streptococcus pneumoniae strain R36A into a smooth type 3 strain. It has become accepted as fact, from modern textbook accounts of these experiments, that smooth pneumococci make capsule, while rough strains do not. We found that rough-to-smooth morphology conversion did not occur in rough strains R36A and R6 when the ability to synthesize native type 2 capsule was restored. The continued rough morphology of these encapsulated strains was attributed to a second, since-forgotten, morphology-affecting mutation that was sustained by R36A during strain development. We used a new genome-PCR-based approach to identify spxB, the gene encoding pyruvate oxidase, as the mutated locus in R36A and R6 that, with unencapsulation, gives rise to rough colony morphology, as we know it. The variant spxB allele of R36A and R6 is associated with increased cellular pyruvate oxidase activity relative to the ancestral strain D39. Increased pyruvate oxidase activity alters colony shape by mediating cell death. R36A requires a wild-type spxB allele for the expression of smooth type 2 morphology but not for the expression of smooth type 3 morphology, the phenotype monitored by Avery et al. Thus, the mutated spxB allele did not impact their use of smooth morphology to identify the transforming principle.

IDENTIFICATION OF A MAINTENANCE SYSTEM ON ROLLING CIRCLE REPLICATING PLASMID PVT736-1

Distribution of plasmid molecules to the two daughter cells at cell division is of major importance for their stable inheritance. Several mechanisms that control equipartitioning of low‐copy‐number plasmids have been described in molecular terms. However, no homologous or analogous systems have been identified for intermediate or high‐copy‐number plasmids, including rolling circle replicating (RCR) plasmids. It has been suggested that distribution of such plasmids at cell division relies solely on random segregation. Plasmid pVT736‐1 is a 2 kb RCR plasmid that was isolated from the Gram‐negative capnophilic coccobacillus Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans. The plasmid contains a DNA region of approximately 0.8 kb that is associated with its segregational stability. An operon that consists of two genes (orf3 and orf2) is followed by a putative cis‐acting site that contains an integration host factor (IHF) binding site, flanked by several repeats. Mutations in orf2 resulted in plasmid instability. In addition, this DNA region was able to stabilize partially a heterologous replicon, p15A. Homologues or analogues of the pVT736‐1 stabilization system have been detected on numerous plasmid and bacterial genomes.