Methionine-mediated gene expression and characterization of the CmhR regulon in Streptococcus pneumoniae

This study investigated the transcriptomic response of Streptococcus pneumoniae D39 to methionine. Transcriptome comparison of the S. pneumoniae D39 wild-type grown in chemically defined medium with 0–10 mM methionine revealed the elevated expression of various genes/operons involved in methionine synthesis and transport (fhs, folD, gshT, metA, metB-csd, metEF, metQ, tcyB, spd-0150, spd-0431 and spd-0618). Furthermore, β-galactosidase assays and quantitative RT-PCR studies demonstrated that the transcriptional regulator, CmhR (SPD-0588), acts as a transcriptional activator of the fhs, folD, metB-csd, metEF, metQ and spd-0431 genes. A putative regulatory site of CmhR was identified in the promoter region of CmhR-regulated genes and this CmhR site was further confirmed by promoter mutational experiments.