This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Spatafora, G. A.
Right arrow Articles by Hudson, M. C.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Spatafora, G. A.
Right arrow Articles by Hudson, M. C.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Bacteriology, April 1999, p. 2363-2372, Vol. 181, No. 8
0021-9193/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Regulated Expression of the Streptococcus mutans dlt Genes Correlates with Intracellular Polysaccharide Accumulation

Grace A. Spatafora,1,* Megan Sheets,1 Rebecca June,1 David Luyimbazi,1 Katherine Howard,1 Robin Hulbert,1 Daron Barnard,1 Mariam el Janne,2 and Michael C. Hudson2

Department of Biology, Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vermont 05753,1 and Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, North Carolina 282232

Received 10 August 1998/Accepted 27 January 1999

Intracellular polysaccharides (IPS) are glycogen-like storage polymers which contribute significantly to Streptococcus mutans-induced cariogenesis. We previously identified and cloned a locus from the S. mutans chromosome which is required for the accumulation of IPS. Sequencing of this locus revealed at least four contiguous open reading frames, all of which are preceded by a common promoter region and are transcribed in the same direction. Analysis of the amino acid sequence deduced from the first of these open reading frames (ORF1) revealed domains which are highly conserved among D-alanine-activating enzymes (DltA) in Lactobacillus rhamnosus (formerly Lactobacillus casei) and Bacillus subtilis. The deduced amino acid sequences derived from ORF2, -3, and -4 also exhibit extensive similarity to DltB, -C, and -D, respectively, in these microorganisms. However, Southern hybridization experiments indicate that this operon maps to a locus on the S. mutans chromosome which is separate from the glgP, glgA, and glgD genes, whose products are known mediators of bacterial IPS accumulation. We therefore assigned a new dlt designation to the locus which we had formerly called glg. We maintain that the dlt genes are involved in S. mutans IPS accumulation, however, since they complement a mutation in trans which otherwise renders S. mutans IPS deficient. In this study, we found that expression of the S. mutans dlt genes is growth phase dependent and is modulated by carbohydrates internalized via the phosphoenolpyruvate phosphotransferase system (PTS). We demonstrated that the S. mutans dlt genes are expressed constitutively when non-PTS sugars are provided as the sole source of carbohydrate. Consistent with a role for the PTS in dlt expression is a similar constitutive expression of the dlt genes in an S. mutans PTS mutant grown in a chemically defined medium supplemented with glucose. In summary, these findings support a novel role for the dlt gene products in S. mutans IPS accumulation and suggest that dlt expression in this oral pathogen is subject to complex mechanisms of control imposed by growth phase, dietary carbohydrate, and other factors present in the plaque environment.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Biology, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT 05753. Phone: (802) 443-5431. Fax: (802) 443-2072. E-mail: spatafor{at}panther.middlebury.edu.

Journal of Bacteriology, April 1999, p. 2363-2372, Vol. 181, No. 8
0021-9193/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Busuioc, M., Mackiewicz, K., Buttaro, B. A., Piggot, P. J. (2009). Role of Intracellular Polysaccharide in Persistence of Streptococcus mutans. J. Bacteriol. 191: 7315-7322 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Abranches, J., Nascimento, M. M., Zeng, L., Browngardt, C. M., Wen, Z. T., Rivera, M. F., Burne, R. A. (2008). CcpA Regulates Central Metabolism and Virulence Gene Expression in Streptococcus mutans. J. Bacteriol. 190: 2340-2349 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Abranches, J., Candella, M. M., Wen, Z. T., Baker, H. V., Burne, R. A. (2006). Different Roles of EIIABMan and EIIGlc in Regulation of Energy Metabolism, Biofilm Development, and Competence in Streptococcus mutans. J. Bacteriol. 188: 3748-3756 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Kilic, A. O., Tao, L., Zhang, Y., Lei, Y., Khammanivong, A., Herzberg, M. C. (2004). Involvement of Streptococcus gordonii Beta-Glucoside Metabolism Systems in Adhesion, Biofilm Formation, and In Vivo Gene Expression. J. Bacteriol. 186: 4246-4253 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Arous, S., Buchrieser, C., Folio, P., Glaser, P., Namane, A., Hebraud, M., Hechard, Y. (2004). Global analysis of gene expression in an rpoN mutant of Listeria monocytogenes. Microbiology 150: 1581-1590 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Cao, M., Helmann, J. D. (2004). The Bacillus subtilis Extracytoplasmic-Function {sigma}X Factor Regulates Modification of the Cell Envelope and Resistance to Cationic Antimicrobial Peptides. J. Bacteriol. 186: 1136-1146 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Neuhaus, F. C., Baddiley, J. (2003). A Continuum of Anionic Charge: Structures and Functions of D-Alanyl-Teichoic Acids in Gram-Positive Bacteria. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. 67: 686-723 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Poyart, C., Lamy, M. C., Boumaila, C., Fiedler, F., Trieu-Cuot, P. (2001). Regulation of D-Alanyl-Lipoteichoic Acid Biosynthesis in Streptococcus agalactiae Involves a Novel Two-Component Regulatory System. J. Bacteriol. 183: 6324-6334 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Kiriukhin, M. Y., Debabov, D. V., Shinabarger, D. L., Neuhaus, F. C. (2001). Biosynthesis of the Glycolipid Anchor in Lipoteichoic Acid of Staphylococcus aureus RN4220: Role of YpfP, the Diglucosyldiacylglycerol Synthase. J. Bacteriol. 183: 3506-3514 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Kiriukhin, M. Y., Neuhaus, F. C. (2001). D-Alanylation of Lipoteichoic Acid: Role of the D-Alanyl Carrier Protein in Acylation. J. Bacteriol. 183: 2051-2058 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Boyd, D. A., Cvitkovitch, D. G., Bleiweis, A. S., Kiriukhin, M. Y., Debabov, D. V., Neuhaus, F. C., Hamilton, I. R. (2000). Defects in D-Alanyl-Lipoteichoic Acid Synthesis in Streptococcus mutans Results in Acid Sensitivity. J. Bacteriol. 182: 6055-6065 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Debabov, D. V., Kiriukhin, M. Y., Neuhaus, F. C. (2000). Biosynthesis of Lipoteichoic Acid in Lactobacillus rhamnosus: Role of DltD in D-Alanylation. J. Bacteriol. 182: 2855-2864 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Clemans, D. L., Kolenbrander, P. E., Debabov, D. V., Zhang, Q., Lunsford, R. D., Sakone, H., Whittaker, C. J., Heaton, M. P., Neuhaus, F. C. (1999). Insertional Inactivation of Genes Responsible for the D-Alanylation of Lipoteichoic Acid in Streptococcus gordonii DL1 (Challis) Affects Intrageneric Coaggregations. Infect. Immun. 67: 2464-2474 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Hyyrylainen, H.-L., Vitikainen, M., Thwaite, J., Wu, H., Sarvas, M., Harwood, C. R., Kontinen, V. P., Stephenson, K. (2000). D-Alanine Substitution of Teichoic Acids as a Modulator of Protein Folding and Stability at the Cytoplasmic Membrane/Cell Wall Interface of Bacillus subtilis. J. Biol. Chem. 275: 26696-26703 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»