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Nonulosonic acids contribute to the pathogenicity of the oral bacterium Tannerella forsythia.

ABSTRACT: Periodontitis is a polymicrobial, biofilm-caused, inflammatory disease affecting the tooth-supporting tissues. It is not only the leading cause of tooth loss worldwide, but can also impact systemic health. The development of effective treatment strategies is hampered by the complicated disease pathogenesis which is best described by a polymicrobial synergy and dysbiosis model. This model classifies the Gram-negative anaerobe Tannerella forsythia as a periodontal pathogen, making it a prime candidate for interference with the disease. Tannerella forsythia employs a protein O-glycosylation system that enables high-density display of nonulosonic acids via the bacterium's two-dimensional crystalline cell surface layer. Nonulosonic acids are sialic acid-like sugars which are well known for their pivotal biological roles. This review summarizes the current knowledge of T. forsythia's unique cell envelope with a focus on composition, biosynthesis and functional implications of the cell surface O-glycan. We have obtained evidence that glycobiology affects the bacterium's immunogenicity and capability to establish itself in the polymicrobial oral biofilm. Analysis of the genomes of different T. forsythia isolates revealed that complex protein O-glycosylation involving nonulosonic acids is a hallmark of pathogenic T. forsythia strains and, thus, constitutes a valuable target for the design of novel anti-infective strategies to combat periodontitis.

SUBMITTER: Bloch S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6388019 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Nonulosonic acids contribute to the pathogenicity of the oral bacterium <i>Tannerella forsythia</i>.

Bloch Susanne S Tomek Markus B MB Friedrich Valentin V Messner Paul P Schäffer Christina C

Interface focus 20190215 2

Periodontitis is a polymicrobial, biofilm-caused, inflammatory disease affecting the tooth-supporting tissues. It is not only the leading cause of tooth loss worldwide, but can also impact systemic health. The development of effective treatment strategies is hampered by the complicated disease pathogenesis which is best described by a polymicrobial synergy and dysbiosis model. This model classifies the Gram-negative anaerobe <i>Tannerella forsythia</i> as a periodontal pathogen, making it a prim ...[more]

PMID: 30842870

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Project description:Tannerella forsythia and Fusobacterium nucleatum are dental plaque bacteria implicated in the development of periodontitis. These two species have been shown to form synergistic biofilms and have been found to be closely associated in dental plaque biofilms. A number of genetic loci for TonB-dependent membrane receptors (TDR) for glycan acquisition, with many existing in association with genes coding for enzymes involved in the breakdown of complex glycans, have been identified in T. forsythia In this study, we focused on a locus, BFO_0186-BFO_0188, that codes for a predicted TDR-SusD transporter along with a putative ?-glucan hydrolyzing enzyme (BFO_0186). This operon is located immediately downstream of a 2-gene operon that codes for a putative stress-responsive extracytoplasmic function (ECF) sigma factor and an anti-sigma factor. Here, we show that BFO_0186 expresses a ?-glucanase that cleaves glucans with ?-1,6 and ?-1,3 linkages. Furthermore, the BFO_0186-BFO_0188 locus is upregulated, with an induction of ?-glucanase activity, in cobiofilms of T. forsythia and F. nucleatum The ?-glucanase activity in mixed biofilms in turn leads to an enhanced hydrolysis of ?-glucans and release of glucose monomers and oligomers as nutrients for F. nucleatum In summary, our study highlights the role of T. forsythia ?-glucanase expressed by the asaccharolytic oral bacterium T. forsythia in the development of T. forsythia-F. nucleatum mixed species biofilms, and suggest that dietary ?-glucans might contribute in plaque development and periodontal disease pathogenesis.IMPORTANCE The development of dental plaque biofilm is a complex process in which metabolic, chemical and physical interactions between bacteria take a central role. Previous studies have shown that the dental pathogens T. forsythia and F. nucleatum form synergistic biofilms and are closely associated in human dental plaque. In this study, we show that ?-glucanase from the periodontal pathogen T. forsythia plays a role in the formation of T. forsythia-F. nucleatum cobiofilms by hydrolyzing ?-glucans to glucose as a nutrient. We also unveiled that the expression of T. forsythia ?-glucanase is induced in response to F. nucleatum sensing. This study highlights the involvement of ?-glucanase activity in the development of T. forsythia-F. nucleatum biofilms and suggests that intake of dietary ?-glucans might be a contributing risk factor in plaque development and periodontal disease pathogenesis.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Tannerella forsythia is a bacterial pathogen implicated in periodontal disease. Numerous virulence-associated T. forsythia genes have been described, however, it is necessary to expand the knowledge on T. forsythia's genome structure and genetic repertoire to further elucidate its role within pathogenesis. Tannerella sp. BU063, a putative periodontal health-associated sister taxon and closest known relative to T. forsythia is available for comparative analyses. In the past, strain confusion involving the T. forsythia reference type strain ATCC 43037 led to discrepancies between results obtained from in silico analyses and wet-lab experimentation. RESULTS:We generated a substantially improved genome assembly of T. forsythia ATCC 43037 covering 99% of the genome in three sequences. Using annotated genomes of ten Tannerella strains we established a soft core genome encompassing 2108 genes, based on orthologs present in >?=?80% of the strains analysed. We used a set of known and hypothetical virulence factors for comparisons in pathogenic strains and the putative periodontal health-associated isolate Tannerella sp. BU063 to identify candidate genes promoting T. forsythia's pathogenesis. Searching for pathogenicity islands we detected 38 candidate regions in the T. forsythia genome. Only four of these regions corresponded to previously described pathogenicity islands. While the general protein O-glycosylation gene cluster of T. forsythia ATCC 43037 has been described previously, genes required for the initiation of glycan synthesis are yet to be discovered. We found six putative glycosylation loci which were only partially conserved in other bacteria. Lastly, we performed a comparative analysis of translational bias in T. forsythia and Tannerella sp. BU063 and detected highly biased genes. CONCLUSIONS:We provide resources and important information on the genomes of Tannerella strains. Comparative analyses enabled us to assess the suitability of T. forsythia virulence factors as therapeutic targets and to suggest novel putative virulence factors. Further, we report on gene loci that should be addressed in the context of elucidating T. forsythia's protein O-glycosylation pathway. In summary, our work paves the way for further molecular dissection of T. forsythia biology in general and virulence of this species in particular.

Dataset Information

Nonulosonic acids contribute to the pathogenicity of the oral bacterium Tannerella forsythia.

Publications

Nonulosonic acids contribute to the pathogenicity of the oral bacterium <i>Tannerella forsythia</i>.

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