Project description:Oral streptococci, including Streptococcus gordonii, and Actinomyces naeslundii, are consistently found to be the most abundant bacteria in the early stages of dental plaque accumulation. These organisms interact physically (coaggregate) in vitro and in vivo. We hypothesized that coaggregation between S. gordonii and A. naeslundii leads to changes in gene expression in the partner organisms. Furthermore, we predicted that coaggregation-induced changes in phenotype contribute to the success of streptococci and actinomyces in dental plaque. To assess the responses of S. gordonii to coaggregation with A. naeslundii, RNA was extracted from S. gordonii cells 3 h after inducing coaggregation with A. naeslundii or from equivalent S. gordonii monocultures. The two RNA populations were reverse transcribed and compared by competitive hybridization with an S. gordonii genomic microarray. The most striking feature of the response to coaggregation was a profound change in expression of S. gordonii genes involved in arginine biosynthesis and transport. Subsequent experiments demonstrated that coaggregation with A. naeslundii stabilizes arginine biosynthesis in S. gordonii and enables growth under low-arginine conditions, such as those present in human saliva. Keywords: Cell-cell interaction The S. gordonii microarrays consist of 2195 70-mer oligonucleotides representing 2151 open reading frames, each repeated six times on the array. Chemically defined medium (CDM), was based in Tereleckyj’s FMC with minor modifications (Jakubovics et al., 2008). For coaggregate cultures, concentrated suspensions of S. gordonii DL1 (Challis) and A. naeslundii MG1 in CDM were mixed, vortexed and diluted to 1 x 108 cfu/ml. Monocultures were set up identically, except that A. naeslundii cells were omitted. Cultures were incubated at 37oC for 3 h prior to harvesting and extraction of total RNA. Purified RNA was reverse transcribed and cDNAs were labelled with Cy3 or Cy5 dye. cDNAs from coaggregate cultures and from S. gordonii monocultures were competitively hybridized with the S. gordonii microarray. Three independent sets of cultures were used, and flip dye pairs were included for two of the biological replicates (ie 5 hybridizations in total). In control experiments, cDNA derived from A.naeslundii monocultures did not hybridize with the S. gordonii microarrays. Data represent the ratios of gene expression in coaggregated S. gordonii compared with S. gordonii monocultured cells.

Project description:Oral streptococci metabolize carbohydrate to produce organic acids, not only decrease the environmental pH, but also increase osmolality of dental plaque fluid due to tooth demineralization and consequent calcium and phosphate accumulation. Thus, to persevere in the dental plaque, acidogenic bacteria should evolve sophisticated molecular machineries to counter the detrimental effect of elevated osmolality. This study was aimed to obtain a global view on strategies taken by streptococcus mutans to deal with physiologically relevant elevated osmolality, and preserves within a cariogenic dental plaque. We investigated phenotypic change of S. mutans biofilm upon sub-lethal level of hyperosmotic challenge. We found that hyperosmotic condition was able to initiate S. mutans biofilm dispersal by reducing both microbial content and extracellular polysaccharides matrix. We then used DNA microarray with qPCR validation to systemically investigate the underlying molecular machinery of this bacteria in response to hyperosmotic stimuli. Among those identified 50 differentially regulated genes, down-regulation of gtfB and comC were believed to be responsible for the observed biofilm dispersal. Further analysis of microarray data showed significant up-regulation of genes and pathways involved in carbohydrates metabolism. Specific genes involved in heat shock response and acid tolerance were also upregulated, indicating potential cross-talk between hyperosmotic and other environmental stress. Based on the data obtained in this study, we believe that although hyperosmotic condition may induce significant stress response on S. mutans, this cariogenic bacterium has evolved sophisticated molecular machineries to counter those elicited detrimental effects. In the meantime, it will take full advantage of these environmental stimuli to better fit the fluctuating environments within oral cavity, and thus emerge as numeric-predominant bacteria under cariogenic conditions. A six-chip study using total RNA recovered from mid-logarithmic phase of S. mutans UA159 from three separate cultures of strains submitted for 15 minutes to hyperosmotic stimuli (0.4M NaCl) and three separate cultures of strains kept under no stress condition.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Actinomyces oris is a Gram-positive bacterium that has been associated with healthy and diseased sites in the human oral cavity. Most pathogenic bacteria require iron to survive, and in order to acquire iron in the relatively iron-scarce oral cavity A. oris has been shown to produce iron-binding molecules known as siderophores. The genes encoding these siderophores and transporters are thought to be regulated by the amount of iron in the growth medium and by the metal-dependent repressor, AmdR, which we showed previously binds to the promoter of proposed iron-regulated genes. OBJECTIVE:The purpose of this study was to characterize siderophore and associated iron transport systems in A. oris. DESIGN:We examined gene expression of the putative iron transport genes fetA and sidD in response to low- and high-iron environments. One of these genes, sidD, encoding a putative Fe ABC transporter protein, was insertionally inactivated and was examined for causing growth defects. To gain a further understanding of the role of iron metabolism in oral diseases, clinical isolates of Actinomyces spp. were examined for the presence of the gene encoding AmdR, a proposed global regulator of iron-dependent gene expression in A. oris. RESULTS:When A. oris was grown under iron-limiting conditions, the genes encoding iron/siderophore transporters fetA and sidD showed increased expression. One of these genes (sidD) was mutated, and the sidD::Km strain exhibited a 50% reduction in growth in late log and stationary phase cells in media that contained iron. This growth defect was restored when the sidD gene was provided in a complemented strain. We were able to isolate the AmdR-encoding gene in seven clinical isolates of Actinomyces. When these protein sequences were aligned to the laboratory strain, there was a high degree of sequence similarity. CONCLUSIONS:The growth of the sidD::Km mutant in iron-replete medium mirrored the growth of the wild-type strain grown in iron-limiting medium, suggesting that the sidD::Km mutant was compromised in iron uptake. The known iron regulator AmdR is well conserved in clinical isolates of A. oris. This work provides additional insight into iron metabolism in this important oral microbe.

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Actinomyces oris

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