The role of ClpP in protein expression of Streptococcus pneumoniae.

Previous reports suggest that ClpP proteolytic activity is important not only for cell physiology but also for regulation of virulence properties of Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae). In order to get a more comprehensive picture of the role of ClpP protease on protein expression in S. pneumoniae D39 and how it relates to physiology and virulence, a clpP mutant strain was constructed in S. pneumoniae D39, and global proteome expression was studied by 2-dimensional electrophoresis and matrix-assisted laser desorption-ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry. We report here that clpP deletion affects the expression of proteins which are involved in the general stress response, nucleotide metabolism, energy metabolism, and proteins metabolism. These provide clues for understanding the role of ClpP in the physiology and pathogenesis of pneumococcus.