An Essential Role for (p)ppGpp in the Integration of Stress Tolerance, Peptide Signaling, and Competence Development in Streptococcus mutans.

ABSTRACT: The microbes that inhabit the human oral cavity are subjected to constant fluctuations in their environment. To overcome these challenges and gain a competitive advantage, oral streptococci employ numerous adaptive strategies, many of which appear to be intertwined with the development of genetic competence. Here, we demonstrate that the regulatory circuits that control development of competence in Streptococcus mutans, a primary etiological agent of human dental caries, are integrated with key stress tolerance pathways by the molecular alarmone (p)ppGpp. We first observed that the growth of a strain that does not produce (p)ppGpp (ΔrelAPQ, (p)ppGpp(0)) is not sensitive to growth inhibition by comX inducing peptide (XIP), unlike the wild-type strain UA159, even though XIP-dependent activat

SUBMITTER: Kaspar J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4963387 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature