Incorporation of choline into Streptococcus pneumoniae cell wall antigens: evidence for choline kinase activity |
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Authors: | Gail C Whiting Stephen H Gillespie |
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Affiliation: | Department of Medical Microbiology, Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, Rowland Hill St., London NW3 2PF, UK |
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Abstract: | Abstract The choline-containing teichoic and lipoteichoic acids play an important part in cell wall metabolism of Streptococcus pneumoniae . We propose that a choline kinase enzyme has a role in the synthesis of these antigens. The presence of this enzyme was demonstrated in cell free extracts of S. pneumoniae by measuring the fall in ATP concentration due to phosphorylation of choline. Genomic DNA of S. pneumoniae hybridised with a probe consisting of an internal fragment of the choline kinase gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and one consisting of the choline binding domain of lytA . |
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Keywords: | Streptococcus pneumoniae Teichoic acid Lipoteichoic acid Choline metabolism Choline kinase |
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