Salivary mucins promote the coexistence of competing oral bacterial species.

ABSTRACT: Mucus forms a major ecological niche for microbiota in various locations throughout the human body such as the gastrointestinal tract, respiratory tract and oral cavity. The primary structural components of mucus are mucin glycoproteins, which crosslink to form a complex polymer network that surrounds microbes. Although the mucin matrix could create constraints that impact inhabiting microbes, little is understood about how this key environmental factor affects interspecies interactions. In this study, we develop an experimental model using gel-forming human salivary mucins to understand the influence of mucin on the viability of two competing species of oral bacteria. We use this dual-species model to show that mucins promote the coexistence of the two competing bacteria and that mucins s

SUBMITTER: Frenkel ES 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5437932 | biostudies-literature | 2017 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature