Environmental pH controls antimicrobial production by human probiotic <i>Streptococcus salivarius</i>.

ABSTRACT: Streptococcus salivarius K12 (SAL) is an oral probiotic used to treat or prevent oral infections caused by human pathogens. SAL produces at least three antimicrobials to exert its antimicrobial activity, namely, salivaricin A and salivaricin B, and the newly identified salivabactin. Salivabactin production is catalyzed by a polyketide/non-ribosomal peptide synthase hybrid biosynthetic gene cluster (BGC), termed as sar-BGC. The sar-BGC expression and salivabactin production are transient during SAL growth in vitro and in vivo, which may negatively impact SAL probiotic efficacy. To understand the molecular basis for transient sar-BGC expression, we assessed the impact of environmental pH on sar-BGC expression. We found that environmental acidi

SUBMITTER: Nguyen DL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12186490 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature