A visual review of the human pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae

Abstract

Being the principal causative agent of bacterial pneumonia, otitis media, meningitis and septicemia, the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae is a major global health problem. To highlight the molecular basis of this problem, we have portrayed essential biological processes of the pneumococcal life cycle in eight watercolor paintings. The paintings are done to a consistent nanometer scale based on currently available data from structural biology and proteomics. In this review article, the paintings are used to provide a visual review of protein synthesis, carbohydrate metabolism, cell wall synthesis, cell division, teichoic acid synthesis, virulence, transformation and pilus synthesis based on the available scientific literature within the field of pneumococcal biology. Visualization of the molecular details of these processes reveals several scientific questions about how molecular components of the pneumococcal cell are organized to allow biological function to take place. By the presentation of this visual review, we intend to stimulate scientific discussion, aid in the generation of scientific hypotheses and increase public awareness. A narrated video describing the biological processes in the context of a whole-cell illustration accompany this article.

A survey of the sperm whale (Physeter catodon) commensal microbiome

“…To detect potentially pathogenic microbes of the sperm whale, we screened the pathogenic bacterial species in the metagenome sequence data of three tissues. We found pathogenic microbes including Enterococcus faecium , Fusobacterium nucleatum , Pseudomonas aeruginosa , Streptococcus anginosus , Streptococcus pneumoniae , Streptococcus suis , and five toxigenic Clostridium in the bloodstream and intestine, and six of them appeared in muscle tissue (Table 2) (Chevalier, Bouffartigues & Bodilis, 2017; Engholm, Kilian & Goodsell, 2017; Fortier, 2017; Gao, Howden & Stinear, 2018; Han, 2015; Okwumabua et al, 2017). Then we aligned the blood, muscle and fecal assembly results and sequencing data against the VFDB databases to identify bacterial virulence genes (Chen et al, 2016).…”

“…The pathogens detected in this study, including E. faecium , P. aeruginosa, S. anginosus , S. pneumoniae, S . suis , and F. nucleatum , are opportunistic pathogens and can cause blood infection and immunity damage (Asam & Spellerberg, 2014; Engholm, Kilian & Goodsell, 2017; Gao, Howden & Stinear, 2018; Mulcahy, Isabella & Lewis, 2014; Prithiviraj, Bais & Weir, 2005). F. nucleatum and five toxigenic Clostridium were found in all three samples, and F. nucleatum is associated with a wide spectrum of human diseases (Bashir, Miskeen & Hazari, 2016; Han, 2015; Signat et al, 2011).…”

Correlation between Exogenous Compounds and the Horizontal Transfer of Plasmid-Borne Antibiotic Resistance Genes

“…The membrane transporter ComAB is responsible for cleaving and exporting the comC-encoded CSP (competence-stimulating peptide), which results in the phosphorylation of response regulator ComE that in turn activates competence related genes. Fully intact PMF involved in F0F1 ATPase activity is indispensable for downstream ComD-ComE signaling and natural competence induction [ 83 ]. Based on these points, a recent study performed a high-throughput screening and discovered three potent inhibitors of S. pneumoniae competence ( Figure 4 B) [ 84 ], called COM-blockers.…”

Interplays between inflammasomes and viruses, bacteria (pathogenic and probiotic), yeasts and parasites

“…Streptococcus pneumoniae ( S. pneumoniae ) or pneumococcus , is a pathogenic Gram-positive, spherical bacteria, alpha-haemolytic (under aerobic conditions) or beta-haemolytic (under anaerobic conditions), which is a facultative anaerobic member of the genus Streptococcus. S. pneumoniae can cause several invasive diseases, such as otitis media, meningitis and pneumonia [ 61 ]. Inflammasomes have been shown to participate in host protection against S. pneumoniae infection.…”