Defining the hydrophobic interactions that drive competence stimulating peptide (CSP)-ComD binding in Streptococcus pneumoniae

• Bimal Koirala,
• Robert A. Hillman,
• Erin K. Tiwold,
• Michael A. Bertucci and
• Yftah Tal-Gan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2018, 14, 1769–1777, doi:10.3762/bjoc.14.151

• as the competence regulon, is centered on the competence stimulating peptide (CSP, Figure 1). S. pneumoniae utilizes the regulon to become competent and acquire antibiotic resistance from the environment, initiate its attack on the human host through virulence factor production, and protect itself

• significant attention as a potential antivirulence alternative to traditional antibiotics. Streptococcus pneumoniae, a notorious human pathogen responsible for a variety of acute and chronic infections, utilizes the competence regulon and its associated signaling peptide, the competence stimulating peptide

• stimulating peptide (CSP); protein–peptide interactions; quorum sensing; Streptococcus pneumoniae; structure–activity relationships (SAR); Introduction Quorum sensing (QS), a cell-density mechanism utilized by bacteria to assess their population density through the detection of diffusible signal molecules