The adhesion-associated sca operon in Streptococcus gordonii encodes an inducible high-affinity ABC transporter for Mn2+ uptake

ScaA lipoprotein in Streptococcus gordonii is a member of the LraI family of homologous polypeptides found among streptococci, pneumococci, and enterococci. It is the product of the third gene within the scaCBA operon encoding the components of an ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter system. Inactivation of scaC (ATP-binding protein) or scaA (substrate-binding protein) genes resulted in both impaired growth of cells and >70% inhibition of Mn-54(2+) uptake in media containing <0.5 mu M Mn2+. In wild-type and scaC mutant cells, production of ScaA was induced at low concentrations of extracellular Mn2+ (<0.5 mu M) and by the addition of greater than or equal to 20 mu M Zn2+. Sea permease-mediated uptake of Mn-54(2+) was inhibited by Zn2+ but not by Ca2+, Mg2+, Fe2+, or Cu2+. Reduced uptake of Mn-54(2+) by sea mutants and by wild-type cells in the presence of Zn2+ was abrogated by the uncoupler carbonylcyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone, suggesting that Mn2+ uptake under these conditions was proton motive force dependent. The frequency of DNA-mediated transformation was reduced >20-fold in sea mutants. The addition of 0.1 mM Mn2+ to the transformation medium restored only partly the transformability of mutant cells, implying an alternate role for Sea proteins in the transformation process. Cells of sea mutants were unaffected in other binding properties tested and were unaffected in sensitivity to oxidants. The results show that Sea permease is a high-affinity mechanism for the acquisition of Mn2+ and is essential for growth of streptococci under Mn2+-limiting conditions.