Molecules and Cells

Korean Society for Molecular and Cellular Biology (한국분자세포생물학회)
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Identification of Essential Genes in Streptococcus Pneumoniae by Allelic Replacement Mutagenesis

  • Song, Jae-Hoon (Asian-Pacific Research Foundation for Infectious Diseases (ARFID)) ;
  • Ko, Kwan Soo (Asian-Pacific Research Foundation for Infectious Diseases (ARFID)) ;
  • Lee, Ji-Young (Asian-Pacific Research Foundation for Infectious Diseases (ARFID)) ;
  • Baek, Jin Yang (Asian-Pacific Research Foundation for Infectious Diseases (ARFID)) ;
  • Oh, Won Sup (Division of Infectious Diseases, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine) ;
  • Yoon, Ha Sik (LG Life Sciences, Inc.) ;
  • Jeong, Jin-Yong (Asan Institute for Life Sciences) ;
  • Chun, Jongsik (School of Biological Sciences, Seoul National University)
  • Received : 2005.01.07
  • Accepted : 2005.03.02
  • Published : 2005.06.30
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Abstract

To find potential targets of novel antimicrobial agents, we identified essential genes of Streptococcus pneumoniae using comparative genomics and allelic replacement mutagenesis. We compared the genome of S. pneumoniae R6 with those of Bacillus subtilis, Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus, and selected 693 candidate target genes with > 40% amino acid sequence identity to the corresponding genes in at least two of the other species. The 693 genes were disrupted and 133 were found to be essential for growth. Of these, 32 encoded proteins of unknown function, and we were able to identify orthologues of 22 of these genes by genomic comparisons. The experimental method used in this study is easy to perform, rapid and efficient for identifying essential genes of bacterial pathogens.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

Supported by : Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy

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