Oxidative Stressors Modify the Response of Streptococcus mutans to Its Competence Signal Peptides.

ABSTRACT: The dental caries pathogen Streptococcus mutans is continually exposed to several types of stress in the oral biofilm environment. Oxidative stress generated by reactive oxygen species has a major impact on the establishment, persistence, and virulence of S. mutans Here, we combined fluorescent reporter-promoter fusions with single-cell imaging to study the effects of reactive oxygen species on activation of genetic competence in S. mutans Exposure to paraquat, which generates superoxide anion, produced a qualitatively different effect on activation of expression of the gene for the master competence regulator, ComX, than did treatment with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), which can yield hydroxyl radical. Paraquat suppressed peptide-mediated induction of comX in a progressive and cumulative fash

SUBMITTER: De Furio M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5666127 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature