Biomaterial and Biomedical Sciences, School of Dentistry, Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), Portland, Oregon, USA.
Division of Infectious Diseases and International Health, Department of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA.
J Bacteriol. 2024 Jul 25;206(7):e0010424. doi: 10.1128/jb.00104-24. Epub 2024 Jun 20.
UNLABELLED: Glucan-dependent biofilm formation is a crucial process in the establishment of as a cariogenic oral microbe. The process of glucan formation has been investigated in great detail, with glycosyltransferases GtfB, GtfC, and GtfD shown to be indispensable for the synthesis of glucans from sucrose. Glucan production can be visualized during biofilm formation through fluorescent labeling, and its abundance, as well as the effect of glucans on general biofilm architecture, is a common phenotype to study virulence regulation. Here, we describe an entirely new phenotype associated with glucan production, caused by a mutation in the open reading frame SMU_848, which is located in an operon encoding ribosome-associated proteins. This mutation led to the excess production and accumulation of glucan-containing droplets on the surface of biofilms formed on agar plates after prolonged incubation. While not characterized in , SMU_848 shows homology to the phage-related ribosomal protease Prp, essential in cleaving off the N-terminal extension of ribosomal protein L27 for functional ribosome assembly in . We present a further characterization of SMU_848/Prp, demonstrating that the deletion of this gene leads to significant changes in expression. Surprisingly, it also profoundly impacts the interkingdom interaction between and , a relevant dual-species interaction implicated in severe early childhood caries. The presented data support a potential broader role for SMU_848/Prp, possibly extending its functionality beyond the ribosomal network to influence important ecological processes. IMPORTANCE: is an important member of the oral biofilm and is implicated in the initiation of caries. One of the main virulence mechanisms is the glucan-dependent formation of biofilms. We identified a new player in the regulation of glucan production, SMU_848, which is part of an operon that also encodes for ribosomal proteins L27 and L21. A mutation in SMU_848, which encodes a phage-related ribosomal protease Prp, leads to a significant accumulation of glucan-containing droplets on biofilms, a previously unknown phenotype. Further investigations expanded our knowledge about the role of SMU_848 beyond its role in glucan production, including significant involvement in interkingdom interactions, thus potentially playing a global role in the virulence regulation of .
未加标签:葡聚糖依赖性生物膜形成是作为致龋口腔微生物的建立的一个关键过程。葡聚糖的形成过程已经被详细研究过,糖苷转移酶 GtfB、GtfC 和 GtfD 被证明是从蔗糖合成葡聚糖所必需的。葡聚糖的产生可以通过荧光标记在生物膜形成过程中可视化,其丰度以及葡聚糖对一般生物膜结构的影响是研究毒力调节的常见表型。在这里,我们描述了一个与葡聚糖产生有关的全新表型,该表型是由位于编码核糖体相关蛋白操纵子中的开放阅读框 SMU_848 的突变引起的。这种突变导致在琼脂平板上形成的生物膜表面上,葡聚糖含量滴状物的过度产生和积累,经过长时间的孵育。虽然在 中没有被表征,但 SMU_848 与噬菌体相关的核糖体蛋白酶 Prp 具有同源性,对于功能性核糖体组装至关重要,用于核糖体蛋白 L27 的 N 端延伸的切割。我们进一步描述了 SMU_848/Prp 的特性,证明该基因的缺失会导致 表达的显著变化。令人惊讶的是,它还会深刻影响 与 之间的种间相互作用,这是一种与严重婴幼儿龋齿有关的重要双物种相互作用。所呈现的数据支持了 SMU_848/Prp 的潜在更广泛作用,其功能可能超出核糖体网络,影响重要的生态过程。
重要性: 是口腔生物膜的重要成员,与龋齿的发生有关。其主要毒力机制之一是葡聚糖依赖性生物膜的形成。我们鉴定了一个新的调控葡聚糖产生的参与者 SMU_848,它是编码核糖体蛋白 L27 和 L21 的操纵子的一部分。SMU_848 中的突变,编码噬菌体相关的核糖体蛋白酶 Prp,导致 生物膜上葡聚糖含量滴状物的大量积累,这是一个以前未知的表型。进一步的研究扩展了我们对 SMU_848 作用的认识,超越了其在葡聚糖产生中的作用,包括在种间相互作用中的显著参与,因此可能在 的毒力调节中发挥全局作用。
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