The Uptake of Choline by Streptococcus pneumoniae

Summary: Uptake of choline, a structural component of pneumococcal C- and F-teichoic acids, into bacteria growing in a defined medium was very efficient with an uptake constant ([S]05) of 3·2 μm. It was inhibited by iodoacetate, dinitrophenol and oligomycin but not by structural analogues of choline. Ethanolamine, however, was transported in the absence of choline but with a reduced affinity ([S]0·5 71·4 μm). The same constitutive system was probably used by both ethanolamine and choline. It is suggested that this system required ATP and probably involved choline kinase.