Project description:RNA-Seq was used to compare the transcriptome of Streptococcus mutans UA159 during growth alone in monoculture, in coculture with Streptococcus gordonii DL1, Streptococcus sanguinis SK36 or Streptococcus oralis 34, and in a quadculture containing all four species. Individual cultures of commensal species Streptococcus gordonii DL1, Streptococcus sanguinis SK36 and Streptococcus oralis 34 were sequenced as well. This revealed a common transcriptome pattern in S. mutans when grown in mixed-species culture, indepenedent of the species identity that S. mutans was cultured with. Additionally, transcriptome changes in the commensal species could also be determined when undergoing competition from S. mutans. RNA-Seq was used to compare the transcriptome of Streptococcus mutans UA159 during growth alone in monoculture or in coculture with Streptococcus sobrinus NIDR 6715, Lactobacillus casei ATCC 4646 or Corynebacterium matruchotii ATCC 14266. These data were compared to previous coculture and quadculture RNA-Seq data with commensal streptococci (GSE209925). These data confirmed a common transcriptome pattern in S. mutans when grown in mixed-species culture with commensal streptococci that is not present with non-commensal streptococci, indepenedent of the species identity that S. mutans was cultured with.
Project description:Streptococcus sobrinus, one agent of dental caries, secretes a protein that induces lymphocyte polyclonal activation of the host as a mechanism of immune evasion. We have isolated from culture supernatants of this bacterium a protein with murine B-cell-stimulatory properties and subsequently cloned the relevant gene. It contains an open reading frame of 825 bp encoding a polypeptide with 275 amino acid residues and a molecular mass of 30 kDa. The protein displays high sequence homology with NAD(+) synthetases from several organisms, including a conserved fingerprint sequence (SGGXD) characteristic of ATP pyrophosphatases. The polypeptide was expressed in Escherichia coli as a hexahistidine-tagged protein and purified in an enzymatically active form. The recombinant NAD(+) synthetase stimulates murine B cells after in vitro treatment of spleen cell cultures, as demonstrated by its ability to induce up-regulation of the expression of CD69, an early marker of lymphocyte activation. Stimulation with the recombinant NAD(+) synthetase was also observed with other B-cell markers, such as CD19(+), B220(+), and CD21(+). Cell proliferation follows the activation induced by the recombinant NAD(+) synthetase.