TY - JOUR
T1 - Identification of genes associated with mutacin I production in Streptococcus mutans using random insertional mutagenesis
AU - Tsang, Phoebe
AU - Merritt, Justin
AU - Nguyen, Trang
AU - Shi, Wenyuan
AU - Qi, Fengxia
PY - 2005/12
Y1 - 2005/12
N2 - Streptococcus mutans is a major pathogen implicated in dental caries. Its virulence is enhanced by its ability to produce bacteriocins, called mutacins, which inhibit the growth of other Gram-positive bacteria. The goal of this study is to use a random insertional mutagenesis approach to search for genes that are associated with mutacin I production in the virulent strain UA140. A random insertional mutagenesis library consisting of 11 000 clones was constructed and screened for a mutacin-defective phenotype. Mutacin-defective clones were isolated, and their insertion sites were determined by PCR amplification or plasmid rescue followed by sequencing. A total of twenty-five unique genes were identified. These genes can be categorized into the following functional classes: two-component sensory systems, stress responses, energy metabolism and central cellular processes. Several conserved hypothetical proteins with unknown functions were also identified. These results suggest that mutacin I production is stringently controlled by diverse and complex regulatory pathways.
AB - Streptococcus mutans is a major pathogen implicated in dental caries. Its virulence is enhanced by its ability to produce bacteriocins, called mutacins, which inhibit the growth of other Gram-positive bacteria. The goal of this study is to use a random insertional mutagenesis approach to search for genes that are associated with mutacin I production in the virulent strain UA140. A random insertional mutagenesis library consisting of 11 000 clones was constructed and screened for a mutacin-defective phenotype. Mutacin-defective clones were isolated, and their insertion sites were determined by PCR amplification or plasmid rescue followed by sequencing. A total of twenty-five unique genes were identified. These genes can be categorized into the following functional classes: two-component sensory systems, stress responses, energy metabolism and central cellular processes. Several conserved hypothetical proteins with unknown functions were also identified. These results suggest that mutacin I production is stringently controlled by diverse and complex regulatory pathways.
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U2 - 10.1099/mic.0.28221-0
DO - 10.1099/mic.0.28221-0
M3 - Article
C2 - 16339939
AN - SCOPUS:29244472046
VL - 151
SP - 3947
EP - 3955
JO - Journal of General Microbiology
JF - Journal of General Microbiology
SN - 1350-0872
IS - 12
ER -