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PlsX deletion impacts fatty acid synthesis and acid adaptation in Streptococcus mutans.

ABSTRACT: Streptococcus mutans, one of the primary causative agents of dental caries in humans, ferments dietary sugars in the mouth to produce organic acids. These acids lower local pH values, resulting in demineralization of the tooth enamel, leading to caries. To survive acidic environments, Strep. mutans employs several adaptive mechanisms, including a shift from saturated to unsaturated fatty acids in membrane phospholipids. PlsX is an acyl-ACP?:?phosphate transacylase that links the fatty acid synthase II (FASII) pathway to the phospholipid synthesis pathway, and is therefore central to the movement of unsaturated fatty acids into the membrane. Recently, we discovered that plsX is not essential in Strep. mutans. A plsX deletion mutant was not a fatty acid or phospholipid auxotroph. Gas chromatography of fatty acid methyl esters indicated that membrane fatty acid chain length in the plsX deletion strain differed from those detected in the parent strain, UA159. The deletion strain displayed a fatty acid shift similar to WT, but had a higher percentage of unsaturated fatty acids at low pH. The deletion strain survived significantly longer than the parent strain when cultures were subjected to an acid challenge of pH?2.5.The ?plsX strain also exhibited elevated F-ATPase activity at pH?5.2, compared with the parent. These results indicate that the loss of plsX affects both the fatty acid synthesis pathway and the acid-adaptive response of Strep. mutans.

SUBMITTER: Cross B

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4892098 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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PlsX deletion impacts fatty acid synthesis and acid adaptation in Streptococcus mutans.

Cross Benjamin B Garcia Ariana A Faustoferri Roberta R Quivey Robert G RG

Microbiology (Reading, England) 20160205 4

Streptococcus mutans, one of the primary causative agents of dental caries in humans, ferments dietary sugars in the mouth to produce organic acids. These acids lower local pH values, resulting in demineralization of the tooth enamel, leading to caries. To survive acidic environments, Strep. mutans employs several adaptive mechanisms, including a shift from saturated to unsaturated fatty acids in membrane phospholipids. PlsX is an acyl-ACP : phosphate transacylase that links the fatty acid synth ...[more]

PMID: 26850107

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Project description:Global transcriptional analysis of acid-inducible genes in Streptococcus mutans: multiple two-component systems involved in acid adaptation pH is a major environmental factor that regulates gene expression in many bacteria. Streptococcus mutans in dental biofilms is regularly exposed to cycles of acidic pH during the ingestion of fermentable dietary carbohydrates. The ability of S. mutans to tolerate low pH is crucial for its virulence and the pathogenesis in dental caries. To better understand its acid tolerance mechanisms, we used DNA microarray to perform genome-wide transcriptional analysis of S. mutans in response to acidic pH. The results showed that adaptation of S. mutans to pH 5.5 for 2 hrs induced differential expression of nearly 14% of genes in the genome, including 169 up-regulated genes and 108 down-regulated genes, largely categorized into six groups. Especially, we found that the genes encoding multiple two-component systems, including CiaHR, LevSR, LiaSR, ScnKR, HK/RR07 and ComDE, were up-regulated during acid adaptation. These findings were further confirmed by real time qRT-PCR and phenotypic assays of the gene deletion mutants. The results support that the multiple two-component systems are required for S. mutans to orchestrate its signal transduction networks for optimal adaptation to acidic pH. Total RNAs were isolated from S. mutans UA159 cells (0.6 at OD600) grown in a TYG broth (3% tryptone, 0.3% yeast extract and 20 mM glucose) at either pH 5.5 or pH 7.5. The RNAs were treated with RNase-free DNase 1 and purified by Qiagen RNeasy mini columns. The purified RNAs were used to generate cDNA probes by an indirect labeling method based on the protocol from TIGR. The cDNAs were coupled with AlexaFluor 555 or AlexaFluor 647 (Invitrogen). The labeled cDNA probes from three different cultures of UA159 were hybridized to the S. mutans microarray slides obtained from PFGRC (http://pfgrc.tigr.org). Array hybridization was conducted using a protocol from the PFGRC with minor modification. After hybridization, washes and dried, the array slides were scanned by ScanArray 5000XL Reader (Perkin Elmer, Boston, MA). After the array slides were scanned, the resulting images were loaded into TIGR Spotfinder software (http://www.tigr.org/software/) and overlaid. A spot grid was created according to TIGR specifications and manually adjusted to fit all spots within the grid, and the intensity values of each spot were determined. Signal intensities of individual channels from an array slide were averaged and normalized using an array data analysis software (MIDAS) by using LOWESS and iterative log mean centering with default settings, followed by in-slide replicate analysis. A t-test was used to determine the consistency of ratios across replicate hybridizations. Only genes whose ratios were â¥ 2-fold changes (either increase or decrease) with 99% confidence interval (P â¤ 0.01) were considered statistically significant.

Project description:The Enterococcus faecalis acyl-acyl carrier protein (ACP) phosphate acyltransferase PlsX plays an important role in phospholipid synthesis and exogenous fatty acid incorporation. Loss of plsX almost completely blocks growth by decreasing de novo phospholipid synthesis, which leads to abnormally long-chain acyl chains in the cell membrane phospholipids. The ∆plsX strain failed to grow without supplementation with an appropriate exogenous fatty acid. Introduction of a ∆fabT mutation into the ∆plsX strain to increase fatty acid synthesis allowed very weak growth. The ∆plsX strain accumulated suppressor mutants. One of these encoded a truncated β-ketoacyl-ACP synthase II (FabO) which restored normal growth and restored de novo phospholipid acyl chain synthesis by increasing saturated acyl-ACP synthesis. Saturated acyl-ACPs are cleaved by a thioesterase to provide free fatty acids for conversion to acyl-phosphates by the FakAB system. The acyl-phosphates are incorporated into position sn1 of the phospholipids by PlsY. We report the tesE gene encodes a thioesterase that can provide free fatty acids. However, we were unable to delete the chromosomal tesE gene to confirm that it is the responsible enzyme. TesE readily cleaves unsaturated acyl-ACPs, whereas saturated acyl-ACPs are cleaved much more slowly. Overexpression of an E. faecalis enoyl-ACP reductase either FabK or FabI which results in high levels of saturated fatty acid synthesis also restored the growth of the ∆plsX strain. The ∆plsX strain grew faster in the presence of palmitic acid than in the presence of oleic acid with improvement in phospholipid acyl chain synthesis. Positional analysis of the acyl chain distribution in the phospholipids showed that saturated acyl chains dominate the sn1-position indicating a preference for saturated fatty acids at this position. High-level production of saturated acyl-ACPs is required to offset the marked preference of the TesE thioesterase for unsaturated acyl-ACPs and allow the initiation of phospholipid synthesis.

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PlsX deletion impacts fatty acid synthesis and acid adaptation in Streptococcus mutans.

Publications

PlsX deletion impacts fatty acid synthesis and acid adaptation in Streptococcus mutans.

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