3'-Phosphoadenosine-5'-phosphate phosphatase activity is required for superoxide stress tolerance in Streptococcus mutans.

ABSTRACT: Aerobic microorganisms have evolved different strategies to withstand environmental oxidative stresses generated by various reactive oxygen species (ROS). For the facultative anaerobic human oral pathogen Streptococcus mutans, the mechanisms used to protect against ROS are not fully understood, since it does not possess catalase, an enzyme that degrades hydrogen peroxide. In order to elucidate the genes that are essential for superoxide stress response, methyl viologen (MV)-sensitive mutants of S. mutans were generated via ISS1 mutagenesis. Screening of approximately 2,500 mutants revealed six MV-sensitive mutants, each containing an insertion in one of five genes, including a highly conserved hypothetical gene, SMU.1297. Sequence analysis suggests that SMU.1297 encodes a hypothetical prot

SUBMITTER: Zhang J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2698468 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature