Abstract
Competence is an important bioprocess for Streptococcus
pneumoniae. Previously, we demonstrated that bacterial second messenger
cyclic di-adenosine monophosphate (c-di-AMP) modulates pneumococcal
competence. Surprisingly, a low c-di-AMP-producing strain, cdaA*,
due to a mutation in the diadenylate cyclase CdaA, is highly susceptible
to competence-stimulating peptide (CSP). In this study, we screened
cdaA* suppressor mutations resistant to CSP to explore c-di-AMP
signaling in S. pneumoniae. A total of 14 clones were sequenced,
nine clones possessed mutations in the c-di-AMP phosphodiesterase Pde1,
indicating that the susceptibility to CSP of cdaA* is correlated
to c-di-AMP levels. Another two clones exhibited a mutation in FabT, a
transcription factor controlling cell membrane fatty acid biosynthesis
and metabolism. We further showed that deletion of fabT,
disruption of the FabT-binding site within the P
fabK promoter, deletion of a fabT
activator BriC, or disruption of K + uptake in
cdaA* all rescued the growth defect of cdaA* in media
supplemented with CSP. Finally, we found that a c-di-AMP
phosphodiesterase-null mutant with high levels of c-di-AMP is highly
sensitive to treatment with either ethanol or Triton X-100, which could
be corrected by reducing c-di-AMP levels through introducing point
mutations in CdaA. Together, these findings indicate that c-di-AMP
affects cell membrane integrity.