Hyper-proliferation sets in at approximately 24 hours into chondrogenesis; given the immediate early peakresponse in EGR1 synthesis, the early rise in EGR1/chromatin occupation and its rapid degradation, it is unlikely that EGR1 is directly physically responsible for this coordination. Instead, these observations suggest that EGR1 helps to generate the conditions under which these DNA-templated processes can co-occur. The global distribution of EGR1 binding sites may point to a more general task in epigenomic reprogramming, not exclusively linked to transcription. By analogy, recent studies on genomic distribution of transcription factor binding sites identified up to half of such binding sites either in intragenic regions or at distant locations, and may suggest additional epigenomic roles besides TF binding in gene promoters. It is tempting to propose a role for IEGs in early epigenomic pre-programming, such that ensuing processes are facilitated in the context of development. As a strictly fermentative bacterium, carbohydrates are most likely the only nutrients from which the pneumococcus can obtain sufficient energy to support growth. This view is strengthened by the large portion of the pneumococcal Fulvestrant genome that is devoted to carbohydrate uptake and metabolism. Genes involved in central metabolic processes, namely carbohydrate transport and utilization, recurrently appear in genome-wide studies aimed at identifying genes essential for virulence. Growing evidence adds to these findings by showing that carbohydrate transport systems, metabolic enzymes and a global regulator of carbon metabolism directly contribute to S. pneumoniae colonization and disease. These studies linked virulence with carbohydrate metabolism, denoting a far greater importance of basic metabolic physiology than previously imagined. Recently, it was recognized that a true understanding of metabolism is perhaps more difficult to attain than that of any other cellular system, because metabolism is influenced by a vast number of regulatory activities at different cellular levels, and metabolism itself feeds back to all the other cellular processes, including metabolic networks. In accordance, lack of correlation between metabolic behaviors and changes in transcript levels, emphasize the importance of examining metabolic operation in detail. Capturing the essence of complex regulatory mechanisms as those involved in carbohydrate metabolism demands the use of well-defined physiological conditions. The gene encoding pyruvate oxidase, spxB, is among the 81 allelic variants in strain R6 and D39. A major consequence of this genetic variation is the different pyruvate oxidase DAPT activity values reported in the literature for D39 and R6 strains, and fully corroborated by our own activity measurements in fresh lysates of cells grown aerobically. Furthermore, the detection of H2O2 in the cultivation medium of strain D39 grown semi-aerobically is indicative of in vivo activity under the conditions studied. Thus, the lower pyruvate oxidase activity of strain D39 could in part explain the higher accumulation of pyruvate in the growth medium. In response to stimuli sensed at the cell surface by receptors, eukaryotic cells propagate signal to the nucleus via intracellular signaling pathways. Such pathways inform decisions about cell fate, cell polarity, migration, cell-cycle regulation, cell proliferation and programmed cell death.