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Journal of Bacteriology, September 1998, p. 4711-4717, Vol. 180, No. 17
0021-9193/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Intracellular alpha -Amylase of Streptococcus mutans

Christine L. Simpson and Roy R. B. Russell*

Department of Oral Biology, Dental School, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom

Received 13 April 1998/Accepted 17 June 1998

Sequencing upstream of the Streptococcus mutans gene for a CcpA gene homolog, regM, revealed an open reading frame, named amy, with homology to genes encoding alpha -amylases. The deduced amino acid sequence showed a strong similarity (60% amino acid identity) to the intracellular alpha -amylase of Streptococcus bovis and, in common with this enzyme, lacked a signal sequence. Amylase activity was found only in S. mutans cell extracts, with no activity detected in culture supernatants. Inactivation of amy by insertion of an antibiotic resistance marker confirmed that S. mutans has a single alpha -amylase activity. The amylase activity was induced by maltose but not by starch, and no acid was produced from starch. S. mutans can, however, transport limit dextrins and maltooligosaccharides generated by salivary amylase, but inactivation of amy did not affect growth on these substrates or acid production. The amylase digested the glycogen-like intracellular polysaccharide (IPS) purified from S. mutans, but the amy mutant was able to digest and produce acid from IPS; thus, amylase does not appear to be essential for IPS breakdown. However, when grown on excess maltose, the amy mutant produced nearly threefold the amount of IPS produced by the parent strain. The role of Amy has not been established, but Amy appears to be important in the accumulation of IPS in S. mutans grown on maltose.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Oral Biology, Dental School, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4BW, United Kingdom. Phone: 44 191 222 7859. Fax: 44 191 222 6137. E-mail: r.r.russell{at}ncl.ac.uk.

Journal of Bacteriology, September 1998, p. 4711-4717, Vol. 180, No. 17
0021-9193/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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