ArticleJournal of bacteriology2007
SpxB is a suicide gene of Streptococcus pneumoniae and confers a selective advantage in an in vivo competitive colonization model.
Article in Journal of bacteriology, 2007. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 74 papers.
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Who cites it
74 citing papers in PubMed, 102 citations in OpenAlex.
- Monounsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis is critical for streptococcal envelope homeostasis and stress tolerance.Journal of bacteriology · 2026Article
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- Biofilm formation during pneumococcal carriage imprints naturally acquired humoral immunity.PLoS pathogens · 2026Article
- Metabolic rewiring at the pyruvate node contributes to severe pneumonia and attenuation of T cell responses in serotype 3 Streptococcus pneumoniae infection.Respiratory research · 2026Article
- Eliminate pneumococcal colonization by targeting intracellular acidification that promotes H2O2 production to enhance bacterial survival.PLoS pathogens · 2026Article
- Nanowire-Mediated Eradication of Polymicrobial Biofilms.ACS omega · 2026Article
- Metabolic Rewiring at the Pyruvate Node Drives Severe Pneumonia and T-Cell Suppression in Serotype 3bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Monounsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis is critical for streptococcal envelope homeostasis and stress tolerance.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Mechanisms of bacterial host-to-host transmission.Microbiology and molecular biology reviews : MMBR · 2025Review
- Structure, Function, and Regulation of LytA: TheMicroorganisms · 2025Review
- Long-read metagenomics gives a more accurate insight into the microbiota of long-ripened gouda cheeses.Frontiers in microbiology · 2025Article
- Expression ofFrontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2025Article
- Identification ofJournal of bacteriology · 2023Article
- Impact of Endogenous Pneumococcal Hydrogen Peroxide on the Activity and Release of Pneumolysin.Toxins · 2023Article
- Impact of Pneumococcal and Viral Pneumonia on the Respiratory and Intestinal Tract Microbiomes of Mice.Microbiology spectrum · 2023Article
- The oxidative stress response ofFrontiers in microbiology · 2023Review
- Antibiotic Tolerance Indicative of Persistence Is Pervasive among Clinical Streptococcus pneumoniae Isolates and Shows Strong Condition Dependence.Microbiology spectrum · 2022Article
- Comparison of specific in-vitro virulence gene expression and innate host response in locally invasive vs colonizer strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae.Medical microbiology and immunology · 2021Article
- Role of the pyruvate metabolic network on carbohydrate metabolism and virulence in Streptococcus pneumoniae.Molecular microbiology · 2020Article
- Hemoglobin stimulates vigorous growth of Streptococcus pneumoniae and shapes the pathogen's global transcriptome.Scientific reports · 2020Article
14 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The human bacterial pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae dies spontaneously upon reaching stationary phase. The extent of S. pneumoniae death at stationary phase is unusual in bacteria and has been conventionally attributed to autolysis by the LytA amidase. In this study, we show that spontaneous pneumococcal death is due to hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)), not LytA, and that the gene responsible for H(2)O(2) production (spxB) also confers a survival advantage in colonization. Survival of S. pneumoniae in stationary phase was significantly prolonged by eliminating H(2)O(2) in any of three ways: chemically by supplementing the media with catalase, metabolically by growing the bacteria under anaerobic conditions, or genetically by constructing DeltaspxB mutants that do not produce H(2)O(2). Likewise, addition of H(2)O(2) to exponentially growing S. pneumoniae resulted in a death rate similar to that of cells in stationary phase. While DeltalytA mutants did not lyse at stationary phase, they died at a rate similar to that of the wild-type strain. Furthermore, we show that the death process induced by H(2)O(2) has features of apoptosis, as evidenced by increased annexin V staining, decreased DNA content, and appearance as assessed by transmission electron microscopy. Finally, in an in vivo rat model of competitive colonization, the presence of spxB conferred a selective advantage over the DeltaspxB mutant, suggesting an explanation for the persistence of this gene. We conclude that a suicide gene of pneumococcus is spxB, which induces an apoptosis-like death in pneumococci and confers a selective advantage in nasopharyngeal cocolonization.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.