Role of the pyruvate metabolic network on carbohydrate metabolism and virulence inStreptococcus pneumoniae

Streptococcus pneumoniaeis a major human pathogen that must adapt to unique nutritional environments in several host niches. The pneumococcus can metabolize a range of carbohydrates that feed into glycolysis ending in pyruvate, which is catabolized by several enzymes. We investigated how the pneumococcus utilizes these enzymes to metabolize different carbohydrates and how this impacts survival in the host. Loss ofldhdecreased bacterial burden in the nasopharynx and enhanced bacteremia in mice. Loss ofspxB,pdhCorpfl2decreased bacteremia and increased host survival. In glucose or galactose, loss ofldhincreased capsule production, whereas loss ofspxBandpdhCreduced capsule production. Thepfl2mutant exhibited reduced capsule production only in galactose. In glucose, pyruvate was metabolized primarily by LDH to generate lactate and NAD(+)and by SpxB and PDHc to generate acetyl-CoA. In galactose, pyruvate metabolism was shunted toward acetyl-CoA production. The majority of acetyl-CoA generated by PFL was used to regenerate NAD(+)with a subset used in capsule production, while the acetyl-CoA generated by SpxB and PDHc was utilized primarily for capsule biosynthesis. These data suggest that the pneumococcus can alter flux of pyruvate metabolism dependent on the carbohydrate present to succeed in distinct host niches.