scholarly journals Structural and Molecular Basis of the Role of Starch and Sucrose in Streptococcus mutans Biofilm Development

2008 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 837-841 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. I. Klein ◽  
S. Duarte ◽  
J. Xiao ◽  
S. Mitra ◽  
T. H. Foster ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Streptococcus Mutans ◽  
Sugar Transport ◽  
Salivary Amylase ◽  
Pathogenic Potential ◽  
Expression Of Genes ◽  
Component Systems ◽  
Two Component Systems ◽  
Biofilm Development ◽  
Specific Sugar

ABSTRACT The interaction of sucrose and starch with bacterial glucosyltransferases and human salivary amylase may enhance the pathogenic potential of Streptococcus mutans within biofilms by influencing the structural organization of the extracellular matrix and modulating the expression of genes involved in exopolysaccharide synthesis and specific sugar transport and two-component systems.

scholarly journals Antibacterial Peptides Resistance in Staphylococcus aureus: Various Mechanisms and the Association with Pathogenicity

Genes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 1527
Author(s):  
Miki Kawada-Matsuo ◽  
Mi Nguyen-Tra Le ◽  
Hitoshi Komatsuzawa
Keyword(s):  
Staphylococcus Aureus ◽  
Antimicrobial Peptides ◽  
Antibacterial Peptides ◽  
Low Concentrations ◽  
Component Systems ◽  
Two Component Systems ◽  
Resistant Strains ◽  
Resistant Mutants ◽  
High Concentrations

Staphylococcus aureus is a bacterium that mainly colonizes the nasal cavity and skin. To colonize the host, it is necessary for S. aureus to resist many antibacterial factors derived from human and commensal bacteria. Among them are the bacteria-derived antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) called bacteriocins. It was reported that some two-component systems (TCSs), which are signal transduction systems specific to bacteria, are involved in the resistance to several bacteriocins in S. aureus. However, the TCS-mediated resistance is limited to relatively low concentrations of bacteriocins, while high concentrations of bacteriocins still exhibit antibacterial activity against S. aureus. To determine whether we could obtain highly bacteriocin-resistant mutants, we tried to isolate highly nisin A-resistant mutants by exposing the cells to sub-minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of nisin A. Nisin A is one of the bacteriocins produced by Lactococcus lactis and is utilized as a food preservative worldwide. Finally, we obtained highly nisin A-resistant mutants with mutations in one TCS, BraRS, and in PmtR, which is involved in the expression of pmtABCD. Notably, some highly resistant strains also showed increased pathogenicity. Based on our findings, this review provides up-to-date information on the role of TCSs in the susceptibility to antibacterial peptides. Additionally, the mechanism for high antimicrobial peptides resistance and its association with pathogenicity in S. aureus is elucidated.

scholarly journals Role of the Streptococcus mutans irvA Gene in GbpC-Independent, Dextran-Dependent Aggregation and Biofilm Formation

2009 ◽  
Vol 75 (22) ◽  
pp. 7037-7043 ◽  
Author(s):  
Min Zhu ◽  
Dragana Ajdić ◽  
Yuan Liu ◽  
David Lynch ◽  
Justin Merritt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Streptococcus Mutans ◽  
Biofilm Formation ◽  
Growth Conditions ◽  
Parental Background ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Major Surface ◽  
Biofilm Development ◽  
Small Aggregation

ABSTRACT Dextran-dependent aggregation (DDAG) of Streptococcus mutans is an in vitro phenomenon that is believed to represent a property of the organism that is beneficial for sucrose-dependent biofilm development. GbpC, a cell surface glucan-binding protein, is responsible for DDAG in S. mutans when cultured under defined stressful conditions. Recent reports have described a putative transcriptional regulator gene, irvA, located just upstream of gbpC, that is normally repressed by the product of an adjacent gene, irvR. When repression of irvA is relieved, there is a resulting increase in the expression of GbpC and decreases in competence and synthesis of the antibiotic mutacin I. This study examined the role of irvA in DDAG and biofilm formation by engineering strains that overexpressed irvA (IrvA+) on an extrachromosomal plasmid. The IrvA+ strain displayed large aggregation particles that did not require stressful growth conditions. A novel finding was that overexpression of irvA in a gbpC mutant background retained a measure of DDAG, albeit very small aggregation particles. Biofilms formed by the IrvA+ strain in the parental background possessed larger-than-normal microcolonies. In a gbpC mutant background, the overexpression of irvA reversed the fragile biofilm phenotype normally associated with loss of GbpC. Real-time PCR and Northern blot analyses found that expression of gbpC did not change significantly in the IrvA+ strain but expression of spaP, encoding the major surface adhesin P1, increased significantly. Inactivation of spaP eliminated the small-particle DDAG. The results suggest that IrvA promotes DDAG not only by GbpC, but also via an increase in P1.

scholarly journals Global transcriptional analysis of acid-inducible genes in Streptococcus mutans: multiple two-component systems involved in acid adaptation

Microbiology ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 155 (10) ◽  
pp. 3322-3332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yongxing Gong ◽  
Xiao-Lin Tian ◽  
Tara Sutherland ◽  
Gary Sisson ◽  
Junni Mai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Streptococcus Mutans ◽  
Expression Profiles ◽  
Acid Tolerance ◽  
Transcriptional Analysis ◽  
Acidic Ph ◽  
Acid Adaptation ◽  
Component Systems ◽  
Two Component ◽  
Tolerance Response ◽  
Two Component Systems

Streptococcus mutans in dental biofilms is regularly exposed to cycles of acidic pH during the ingestion of fermentable dietary carbohydrates. The ability of S. mutans to tolerate low pH is crucial for its virulence and pathogenesis in dental caries. To better understand its acid tolerance mechanisms, we performed genome-wide transcriptional analysis of S. mutans in response to an acidic pH signal. The preliminary results showed that adaptation of S. mutans to pH 5.5 induced differential expression of nearly 14 % of the genes in the genome, including 169 upregulated genes and 108 downregulated genes, largely categorized into nine functional groups. One of the most interesting findings was that the genes encoding multiple two-component systems (TCSs), including CiaHR, LevSR, LiaSR, ScnKR, Hk/Rr1037/1038 and ComDE, were upregulated during acid adaptation. Real-time qRT-PCR confirmed the same trend in the expression profiles of these genes at pH 5.5. To determine the roles of these transduction systems in acid adaptation, mutants with a deletion of the histidine-kinase-encoding genes were constructed and assayed for the acid tolerance response (ATR). The results revealed that inactivation of each of these systems resulted in a mutant that was impaired in ATR, since pre-exposure of these mutants to pH 5.5 did not induce the same level of protection against lethal pH levels as the parent did. A competitive fitness assay showed that all the mutants were unable to compete with the parent strain for persistence in dual-strain mixed cultures at acidic pH, although, with the exception of the mutant in liaS, little effect was observed at neutral pH. The evidence from this study suggests that the multiple TCSs are required for S. mutans to orchestrate its signal transduction networks for optimal adaptation to acidic pH.

scholarly journals Multiple Two-Component Systems of Streptococcus mutans Regulate Agmatine Deiminase Gene Expression and Stress Tolerance

2009 ◽  
Vol 191 (23) ◽  
pp. 7363-7366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaling Liu ◽  
Robert A. Burne
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Stress Tolerance ◽  
Streptococcus Mutans ◽  
Thermal Stresses ◽  
Low Ph ◽  
Component Systems ◽  
Two Component ◽  
Two Component Systems ◽  
Agmatine Deiminase

ABSTRACT Induction of the agmatine deiminase system (AgDS) of Streptococcus mutans requires agmatine and is optimal at low pH. We show here that the VicRK, ComDE, and CiaRH two-component systems influence AgDS gene expression in response to acidic and thermal stresses.

Effect of Bisphenol A Glycol Methacrylate on Virulent Properties of Streptococcus mutans UA159

2018 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyungsun Kim ◽  
Jung-Sub An ◽  
Bum-Soon Lim ◽  
Sug-Joon Ahn
Keyword(s):  
Bisphenol A ◽  
Streptococcus Mutans ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Sugar Transport ◽  
Mechanical Degradation ◽  
Planktonic Growth ◽  
Oral Environment ◽  
Glucan Synthesis ◽  
Cariogenic Bacterium ◽  
Biofilm Development

Bisphenol A glycidyl methacrylate (bis-GMA), which is released into the oral environment by dental composites through incomplete polymerization, hydrolysis, and mechanical degradation, can significantly influence oral ecology around resin-based materials. The purpose of this study was to investigate how bis-GMA changes the virulence properties of Streptococcus mutans, a major cariogenic bacterium in humans. The results show that bis-GMA not only inhibited the planktonic growth of cells in medium containing glucose, fructose, or mannose, but also reduced the viability of S. mutans. However, the presence of bis-GMA increased sugar transport and intracellular polysaccharide accumulation in S. mutans, thereby increasing the potential of cell persistence. In addition, bis-GMA could enhance S. mutans’s adhesion to hard surfaces and glucan synthesis, which could contribute to biofilm formation. Although free bis-GMA made cells vulnerable to acidic stress, it also provided increased resistance to hydrogen peroxide, which might confer an advantage in competition with other oral microorganisms during the early stage of biofilm development. Interestingly, the presence of bis-GMA did not change the ability of S. mutans to interact with saliva. The results suggest that leachable bis-GMA could contribute to biofilm-related secondary dental caries at the marginal interface between resin-based materials and teeth by altering the virulent properties of S. mutans, although bis-GMA reduced the planktonic growth and viability of S. mutans.

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