A Streptococcus mutans mutant that synthesizes elevated levels of intracellular polysaccharide is hypercariogenic in vivo.

We used the streptococcal transposon, Tn916 to identify and isolate mutants of Streptococcus mutans with altered intracellular polysaccharide (IPS) accumulation. We report on the isolation and characterization of S. mutans SMS202, a transposon mutant which accumulated the glycogen-like IPS in excess of wild-type levels. Southern blot analysis confirmed a single Tn916 insertion into the SMS202 chromosome. Moreover, quantitative ultrastructural analysis revealed significantly increased concentrations of IPS in SMS202 relative to those of the wild-type progenitor strain, UA130. The activities of ADPglucose pyrophosphorylase (GlgC) and glycogen synthase (GlgA), enzymes required for the biosynthesis of bacterial IPS, were also elevated in the IPS excess mutant. Furthermore, SMS202 was significantly more cariogenic on the molar surfaces of germ-free rats than the wild type (P < 0.01), thus confirming a central role for IPS in S. mutants-induced caries formation. We propose that the increased cariogenic potential of SMS202 is due to constitutive expression of genes which encode glycogen biosynthesis in this oral pathogen. The coordinate expression of GlgC and GlgA along with the results of ongoing nucleotide sequence analysis and Northern hybridization experiments support an operon-like arrangement for the glg genes of this oral pathogen.