Identification of an iron-binding protein of the Dps family expressed by Streptococcus thermophilus

Streptococcus thermophilus PB18 can grow between 20 degrees and 52 degrees C and is resistant to various stresses such as heat, acidic or cold shock. During cold shock, a protein of 21.5 kDa was previously shown to be induced in S. thermophilus. In addition to its cold-shock induction, 2D-PAGE revealed that the 21.5-kDa protein was also expressed during the stationary phase of growth. The recent access to the genome sequence of S. thermophilus LMG18311 allowed the identification of a 173-amino acid protein displaying a strong homology between the 21.5-kDa protein and members of the Dps family of proteins. Specific staining of non-denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (ND-PAGE) followed by two-dimensional PAGE (2D-PAGE) showed that the 21.5-kDa protein was an iron-binding protein.