Frenkel Erica Shapiro, Ribbeck Katharina
Biological Sciences in Dental Medicine, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
ISME J. 2017 May;11(5):1286-1290. doi: 10.1038/ismej.2016.200. Epub 2017 Jan 24.
Mucus forms a major ecological niche for microbiota in various locations throughout the human body such as the gastrointestinal tract, respiratory tract and oral cavity. The primary structural components of mucus are mucin glycoproteins, which crosslink to form a complex polymer network that surrounds microbes. Although the mucin matrix could create constraints that impact inhabiting microbes, little is understood about how this key environmental factor affects interspecies interactions. In this study, we develop an experimental model using gel-forming human salivary mucins to understand the influence of mucin on the viability of two competing species of oral bacteria. We use this dual-species model to show that mucins promote the coexistence of the two competing bacteria and that mucins shift cells from the mixed-species biofilm into the planktonic form. Taken together, these findings indicate that the mucus environment could influence bacterial viability by promoting a less competitive mode of growth.
黏液在人体的各个部位，如胃肠道、呼吸道和口腔，为微生物群形成了一个主要的生态位。黏液的主要结构成分是黏蛋白糖蛋白，它们交联形成一个围绕微生物的复杂聚合物网络。尽管黏蛋白基质可能会产生影响栖息微生物的限制因素，但对于这个关键环境因素如何影响种间相互作用却知之甚少。在本研究中，我们使用形成凝胶的人类唾液黏蛋白开发了一个实验模型，以了解黏蛋白对两种竞争性口腔细菌生存能力的影响。我们使用这个双物种模型表明，黏蛋白促进了两种竞争性细菌的共存，并且黏蛋白将细胞从混合物种生物膜转变为浮游形式。综上所述，这些发现表明黏液环境可能通过促进一种竞争性较小的生长模式来影响细菌的生存能力。
