Genome-wide identification of Streptococcus sanguinis fitness genes in human serum and discovery of potential selective drug targets.

ABSTRACT: Streptococcus sanguinis is a primary colonizer of teeth and is associated with oral health. When it enters the bloodstream, however, this bacterium may cause the serious illness infective endocarditis. The genes required for survival and proliferation in blood have not been identified. The products of these genes could provide a rich source of targets for endocarditis-specific antibiotics possessing greater efficacy for endocarditis, and also little or no activity against those bacteria that remain in the mouth. We previously created a comprehensive library of S. sanguinis mutants lacking every nonessential gene. We have now screened each member of this library for growth in human serum and discovered 178 mutants with significant abundance changes. The main biological functions disrupted i

SUBMITTER: Zhu B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8055731 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature