Natural bacterial transformation involves the internalization and chromosomal integration of
DNA and has now been documented in∼ 80 species. Recent advances have established …

The HtrA family of chaperones and serine proteases is important for regulating stress
responses and controlling protein quality in the periplasm of bacteria. HtrA is also …

Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) kills nearly 1 million children annually, and the
emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains poses a serious threat to human health. Because …

Secondary bacterial infections enhance the disease burden of influenza infections
substantially. Streptococcus pneumoniae (the pneumococcus) plays a major role in the …

Being the principal causative agent of bacterial pneumonia, otitis media, meningitis and
septicemia, the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae is a major global health problem. To …

Natural DNA transformation is a lateral gene transfer mechanism during which bacteria take
up naked DNA from their environment and stably integrate it in their genome. The proteins …

Bacterial proteases and peptidases are integral to cell physiology and stability, and their
necessity in Streptococcus pneumoniae is no exception. Protein cleavage and processing …

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a frequent colonizer of the human nasopharynx that has the
potential to cause severe infections such as pneumonia, bacteremia and meningitis. Despite …

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a human pathobiont possessing a diverse array of
multifunctional proteins essential for bacterial fitness and virulence. Gene expression is …

Two small quorum sensing (QS) peptides regulate competence in S. mutans in a cell density
dependent manner: XIP (sigX inducing peptide) and CSP (competence stimulating peptide) …