Project Details
Description
Project Summary/Abstract
Dental plaque is a polymicrobial community of the human mouth that can contribute to multiple
oral diseases. As with many other multispecies microbial communities, the microorganisms that
make up dental plaque are spatially organized similarly among different people, suggesting that
the forces that govern the development of these communities are conserved. Streptococcus
gordonii has been hypothesized to play a crucial role in dental plaque development due to its
ability to rapidly bind the saliva-coated oral surfaces aiding late colonizers of the dental plaque
in joining the maturing community. RNA-seq analysis of S. gordonii cells in a biofilm revealed
that approximately 10% of its genes are differentially expressed compared to their planktonic
counterparts. Of particular interest, biofilm-derived cells upregulated SGO_2031, which encodes
a putative Ne-lysine acetyltransferase, a member of the GCN5-related N-acetyltransferase
(GNAT) family. Deletion of SGO_2031 causes a defect in single-species biofilm formation
compared to the wild-type parent strain due to a reduction in the expression of the poly-gamma-
glutamate gene (pgsA), which has been implicated in the production of extracellular
polysaccharides. Our preliminary data suggest that acetylation of the sensor histidine kinase
gene SGO_0299 regulates pgsA transcription and biofilm formation. This proposal will
investigate the effect of SGO_0299 acetylation on its ability to phosphorylate its cognate
response regulator, SGO_0298, ultimately affecting EPS production and biofilm formation.
Given S. gordonii important role in oral biofilm development as an early colonizer of tooth
surfaces, we will establish a murine model system to investigate how SGO_2031 dependent
acetylation affects S. gordonii’s ability to colonize and shape the oral microbial community.
Status | Active |
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Effective start/end date | 8/1/22 → 7/31/24 |
Funding
- National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research: $155,000.00
- National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research: $155,000.00
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