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Journal of Bacteriology, May 1999, p. 3087-3095, Vol. 181, No. 10
0021-9193/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Cell Wall-Anchored CshA Polypeptide (259 Kilodaltons) in Streptococcus gordonii Forms Surface Fibrils That Confer Hydrophobic and Adhesive Properties

Roderick McNab,1 Helen Forbes,2 Pauline S. Handley,2 Diane M. Loach,3 Gerald W. Tannock,3 and Howard F. Jenkinson4,*

Department of Microbiology, Eastman Dental Institute, London,1 School of Biological Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester,2 and Department of Oral and Dental Science, University of Bristol Dental Hospital and School, Bristol,4 United Kingdom, and Department of Microbiology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand3

Received 28 December 1998/Accepted 12 March 1999

It has been shown previously that inactivation of the cshA gene, encoding a major cell surface polypeptide (259 kDa) in the oral bacterium Streptococcus gordonii, generates mutants that are markedly reduced in hydrophobicity, deficient in binding to oral Actinomyces species and to human fibronectin, and unable to colonize the oral cavities of mice. We now show further that surface fibrils 60.7 ± 14.5 nm long, which are present on wild-type S. gordonii DL1 (Challis) cells, bind CshA-specific antibodies and are absent from the cell surfaces of cshA mutants. To more precisely determine the structural and functional properties of CshA, already inferred from insertional-mutagenesis experiments, we have cloned the entire cshA gene into the replicative plasmid pAM401 and expressed full-length CshA polypeptide on the cell surface of heterologous Enterococcus faecalis JH2-2. Enterococci expressing CshA exhibited a 30-fold increase in cell surface hydrophobicity over E. faecalis JH2-2 carrying the pAM401 vector alone and 2.4-fold-increased adhesion to human fibronectin. CshA expression in E. faecalis also promoted cell-cell aggregation and increased the ability of enterococci to bind Actinomyces naeslundii cells. Electron micrographs of negatively stained E. faecalis cells expressing CshA showed peritrichous surface fibrils 70.3 ± 9.1 nm long that were absent from control E. faecalis JH2-2(pAM401) cells. The fibrils bound CshA-specific antibodies, as detected by immunoelectron microscopy, and the antibodies inhibited the adhesion of E. faecalis cells to fibronectin. The results demonstrate that the CshA polypeptide is the structural and functional component of S. gordonii adhesive fibrils, and they provide a molecular basis for past correlations of surface fibril production, cell surface hydrophobicity, and adhesion in species of oral "sanguis-like" streptococci.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Oral and Dental Science, University of Bristol Dental Hospital and School, Lower Maudlin St., Bristol, BS1 2LY, United Kingdom. Phone: (44) 117 928 4358. Fax: (44) 117 928 4428. E-mail: howard.jenkinson{at}bristol.ac.uk.

Journal of Bacteriology, May 1999, p. 3087-3095, Vol. 181, No. 10
0021-9193/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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