Transcriptome analysis of Streptococcus pneumoniae D39 in the presence of cobalt

Cobalt (Co(2 +)) is an important transition metal ion that plays a vital role in cellular physiology of bacteria. The role of Co(2 +) in the regulation of several genes/operons in Streptococcus pneumoniae has recently been reported [1]. The data described in this article relate to the genome-wide transcriptional profiling of Streptococcus pneumoniae D39, either in the presence or absence of 0.5 mM Co(2 +) in chemically defined medium (CDM) using DNA microarray analysis. Genes belonging to a broad range of cellular processes such as virulence, transport and efflux systems, stress response and surface attachment were differentially expressed in the presence of Co(2 +). We used transcriptional lacZ assays and electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSAs) to confirm our results [1]. The dataset is publicly available at the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) repository (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/) with accession number GSE57696.