Project description:Recent studies have shown that the transcriptional landscape of the pleiomorphic fungus Candida albicans is highly dependent upon growth conditions. Here using a dual RNA-seq approach we identified 299 C. albicans and 72 Streptococcus gordonii genes that were either up- or down-regulated specifically as a result of co-culturing these human oral cavity microorganisms. Seventy five C. albicans genes involved in responses to chemical stimuli, regulation, homeostasis, protein modification and cell cycle were statistically (P ≤0.05) upregulated, while 36 genes mainly involved in transport and translation were down-regulated. Upregulation of filamentation-associated TEC1 and FGR42 genes, and of ALS1 adhesin gene, concurred with previous evidence that the C. albicans yeast to hypha transition is promoted by S. gordonii. Increased expression of genes required for arginine biosynthesis in C. albicans was potentially indicative of a novel oxidative stress response. The transcriptional response of S. gordonii to C. albicans was less dramatic, with only eight S. gordonii genes significantly (P ≤0.05) up-regulated ≥ twofold (glpK, rplO, celB, rplN, rplB, rpsE, ciaR, and gat). The expression patterns suggest that signals from S. gordonii cause a positive filamentation response in C. albicans, while S. gordonii appears to be transcriptionally less influenced by C. albicans. Five Samples; Sample 1 - Candida albicans cells grown in hypha inducing conditions for two hours; Sample 2 - Candida albicans cells grown in hypha-inducing conditions for two hours before co-culture with Streptococcus gordonii cells for one hour in a 2:1 rato; Sample 3 - Candida albicans cells grown in hypha-inducing conditions for two hours before culture in Streptococcus gordonii media for one hour; Sample 4 - Candida albicans cells grown in hypha inducing conditions for two hours, filtered to remove Candida albicans cells and media added to Streptococcus gordonii cells for one hour; Sample 5 - Streptococcus gordonii cells alone for one hour. All samples extracted and sequenced in biological triplicate using Illumina HiSeq2500. Samples 1, 2 and 3 aligned to the reference genome for Candida albicans and Samples 2, 4 and 5 aligned to the reference genome for Streptococcus gordonii.
Project description:We have previously shown that responses of the oral bacterium Streptococcus gordonii to arginine are co-ordinated by three paralogous regulators: ArcR, ArgR and AhrC. This set of experiments was designed to assess the effects of the AhrC gene regulator on global gene expression in Streptococcus gordonii under high arginine or following a shift to no arginine.
Project description:We have previously shown that responses of the oral bacterium Streptococcus gordonii to arginine are co-ordinated by three paralogous regulators: ArgR, ArgR and AhrC. This set of experiments was designed to assess the effects of the ArgR gene regulator on global gene expression in Streptococcus gordonii under high arginine or following a shift to no arginine.
Project description:We have previously shown that responses of the oral bacterium Streptococcus gordonii to arginine are co-ordinated by three paralogous regulators: ArcR, ArgR and AhrC. This set of experiments was designed to assess the effects of the ArcR gene regulator on global gene expression in Streptococcus gordonii under high arginine or following a shift to no arginine.
Project description:Streptococcus gordonii, an important primary colonizer of dental plaque biofilm, specifically binds to salivary amylase via the surface-associated amylase-binding protein A (AbpA). We hypothesized that amylase binding to S. gordonii modulates expression of chromosomal genes, which could influence bacterial survival and persistence in the oral cavity. Gene expression profiling by microarray analysis was performed to detect differentially expressed genes in S. gordonii strain CH1 in response to the binding of purified human salivary amylase as compared to exposure to heat-denatured amylase. Selected genes found to be differentially expressed were validated by qRT-PCR. Five genes from the fatty acid synthesis (FAS) cluster were highly (10-35 fold) up-regulated in amylase treated S. gordonii CH1 cells compared to the denatured-amylase treated cells. An abpA-deficient strain of S. gordonii exposed to amylase did not show a similar response in FAS gene expression as observed in the parental strain. Predicted phenotypic effects of amylase binding to S. gordonii strain CH1 associated with increased expression of FAS genes leading to changes in fatty acid synthesis were noted, as evidenced by increased bacterial growth, survival at low pH, and resistance to triclosan. These changes were not observed in the amylase exposed abpA-deficient strain, suggesting for the role of AbpA in amylase-induced phenotype. These results provide evidence that the binding of salivary amylase elicits a differential gene response in S. gordonii, resulting in a phenotype adjustment that is potentially advantageous for bacterial survival in the oral environment.