Project description:All organisms throughout the tree of life sense and respond to their surface environments. To discriminate from among mucosal surface environmental cues, we grew Streptococcus gordonii biofilms over night at 37C on surfaces coated with the salivary mucin MUC5B, or a low density protein fraction derived from human saliva.
Project description:Streptococcus gordonii, an important primary colonizer of dental plaque biofilm, specifically binds to salivary amylase via the surface-associated amylase-binding protein A (AbpA). We hypothesized that amylase binding to S. gordonii modulates expression of chromosomal genes, which could influence bacterial survival and persistence in the oral cavity. Gene expression profiling by microarray analysis was performed to detect differentially expressed genes in S. gordonii strain CH1 in response to the binding of purified human salivary amylase as compared to exposure to heat-denatured amylase. Selected genes found to be differentially expressed were validated by qRT-PCR. Five genes from the fatty acid synthesis (FAS) cluster were highly (10-35 fold) up-regulated in amylase treated S. gordonii CH1 cells compared to the denatured-amylase treated cells. An abpA-deficient strain of S. gordonii exposed to amylase did not show a similar response in FAS gene expression as observed in the parental strain. Predicted phenotypic effects of amylase binding to S. gordonii strain CH1 associated with increased expression of FAS genes leading to changes in fatty acid synthesis were noted, as evidenced by increased bacterial growth, survival at low pH, and resistance to triclosan. These changes were not observed in the amylase exposed abpA-deficient strain, suggesting for the role of AbpA in amylase-induced phenotype. These results provide evidence that the binding of salivary amylase elicits a differential gene response in S. gordonii, resulting in a phenotype adjustment that is potentially advantageous for bacterial survival in the oral environment.
Project description:Streptococcus gordonii, an important primary colonizer of dental plaque biofilm, specifically binds to salivary amylase via the surface-associated amylase-binding protein A (AbpA). We hypothesized that amylase binding to S. gordonii modulates expression of chromosomal genes, which could influence bacterial survival and persistence in the oral cavity. Gene expression profiling by microarray analysis was performed to detect differentially expressed genes in S. gordonii strain CH1 in response to the binding of purified human salivary amylase as compared to exposure to heat-denatured amylase. Selected genes found to be differentially expressed were validated by qRT-PCR. Five genes from the fatty acid synthesis (FAS) cluster were highly (10-35 fold) up-regulated in amylase treated S. gordonii CH1 cells compared to the denatured-amylase treated cells. An abpA-deficient strain of S. gordonii exposed to amylase did not show a similar response in FAS gene expression as observed in the parental strain. Predicted phenotypic effects of amylase binding to S. gordonii strain CH1 associated with increased expression of FAS genes leading to changes in fatty acid synthesis were noted, as evidenced by increased bacterial growth, survival at low pH, and resistance to triclosan. These changes were not observed in the amylase exposed abpA-deficient strain, suggesting for the role of AbpA in amylase-induced phenotype. These results provide evidence that the binding of salivary amylase elicits a differential gene response in S. gordonii, resulting in a phenotype adjustment that is potentially advantageous for bacterial survival in the oral environment. In order to identify amylase-regulated genes, S. gordonii CH1 was grown statically in 40 ml CDM at 37°C in a candle jar to mid-log phase corresponding to an optical density at 600 nm of 0.5 to 0.6.The mid-log phase bacterial culture was divided into two aliquots of equal volume. Bacterial cells from all aliquots were pelleted by centrifugation at 6,000 x g in a Sorvall RC6 centrifuge at 20°C, and washed once with simulated salivary buffer preconditioned to 37°C. Simulated salivary buffer containing 0.4 mg/ml purified, non-glycosylated salivary amylase (native amylase) and preconditioned to 37°C was added to the cells of the fist aliquot; to the cells of the second aliquot simulated salivary buffer containing 0.4 mg/ml of the same salivary amylase denatured by heating to 100°C {Heinen, 1976} and cooled to 37°C was added, as a negative control. Each aliquot, amylase treated and control, was incubated statically for 15 min at 37°C in a candle jar. Total RNA was immediately isolated by the hot acid phenol method as described previously {Vickerman, 2007}, followed by treatment with TurboDNase (Applied Biosystems/Ambion, Austin, TX) according to manufacturer’s protocol. Remaining contaminants were removed using the RNeasy minikit column (Qiagen, Valencia, CA) with the cleanup protocol. Total RNA was quantified using the Nanodrop 2000 spectrophotometer and RNA integrity determined by agarose gel electrophoresis. Total RNA was used immediately for cDNA synthesis. The Cy dye-labeled cDNA from the amylase-treated aliquot of the culture was mixed with Cy dye-labeled cDNA from the denatured amylase-treated control aliquot, and used to probe the S. gordonii microarray slides. Each amylase-exposure experiment was repeated from four biological replicates. To confirm microarray results the cDNA from each strain was labeled with the opposite Cy dye and hybridized to similar arrays for the flip-dye comparison. Overall design 4 samples were analyzed. The quality controls were 4 biological replicates and dye-swap technical replicates for each biological replicate.
Project description:Recent studies have shown that the transcriptional landscape of the pleiomorphic fungus Candida albicans is highly dependent upon growth conditions. Here using a dual RNA-seq approach we identified 299 C. albicans and 72 Streptococcus gordonii genes that were either up- or down-regulated specifically as a result of co-culturing these human oral cavity microorganisms. Seventy five C. albicans genes involved in responses to chemical stimuli, regulation, homeostasis, protein modification and cell cycle were statistically (P ≤0.05) upregulated, while 36 genes mainly involved in transport and translation were down-regulated. Upregulation of filamentation-associated TEC1 and FGR42 genes, and of ALS1 adhesin gene, concurred with previous evidence that the C. albicans yeast to hypha transition is promoted by S. gordonii. Increased expression of genes required for arginine biosynthesis in C. albicans was potentially indicative of a novel oxidative stress response. The transcriptional response of S. gordonii to C. albicans was less dramatic, with only eight S. gordonii genes significantly (P ≤0.05) up-regulated ≥ twofold (glpK, rplO, celB, rplN, rplB, rpsE, ciaR, and gat). The expression patterns suggest that signals from S. gordonii cause a positive filamentation response in C. albicans, while S. gordonii appears to be transcriptionally less influenced by C. albicans. Five Samples; Sample 1 - Candida albicans cells grown in hypha inducing conditions for two hours; Sample 2 - Candida albicans cells grown in hypha-inducing conditions for two hours before co-culture with Streptococcus gordonii cells for one hour in a 2:1 rato; Sample 3 - Candida albicans cells grown in hypha-inducing conditions for two hours before culture in Streptococcus gordonii media for one hour; Sample 4 - Candida albicans cells grown in hypha inducing conditions for two hours, filtered to remove Candida albicans cells and media added to Streptococcus gordonii cells for one hour; Sample 5 - Streptococcus gordonii cells alone for one hour. All samples extracted and sequenced in biological triplicate using Illumina HiSeq2500. Samples 1, 2 and 3 aligned to the reference genome for Candida albicans and Samples 2, 4 and 5 aligned to the reference genome for Streptococcus gordonii.
Project description:We have previously shown that responses of the oral bacterium Streptococcus gordonii to arginine are co-ordinated by three paralogous regulators: ArcR, ArgR and AhrC. This set of experiments was designed to assess the effects of the ArcR gene regulator on global gene expression in Streptococcus gordonii under high arginine or following a shift to no arginine.
Project description:We have previously shown that responses of the oral bacterium Streptococcus gordonii to arginine are co-ordinated by three paralogous regulators: ArcR, ArgR and AhrC. This set of experiments was designed to assess the effects of the AhrC gene regulator on global gene expression in Streptococcus gordonii under high arginine or following a shift to no arginine.
Project description:We have previously shown that responses of the oral bacterium Streptococcus gordonii to arginine are co-ordinated by three paralogous regulators: ArgR, ArgR and AhrC. This set of experiments was designed to assess the effects of the ArgR gene regulator on global gene expression in Streptococcus gordonii under high arginine or following a shift to no arginine.
Project description:Streptococcus gordonii is a primary colonizer of the multispecies biofilm on tooth surfaces forming dental plaque, and a potential agent of endocarditis. The recent completion of the genome sequence of the naturally competent strain Challis allowed the design of a spotted oligonucleotide microarray to examine a genome-wide response of this organism to environmental signals. Based on temporal responses to synthetic competence signaling peptide (CSP) as indicated by transformation frequencies, the S. gordonii transcriptome was monitored at increments after CSP exposure. Microarray analysis identified 35 candidate early genes and 127 candidate late genes that were up-regulated at 5 and 15 minutes, respectively; these genes were often grouped in clusters. Findings supported published literature on the S. gordonii competence response, with up-regulation of most, but not all, genes that have been reported to affect this species' transformation frequencies. The CSP-induced transcriptomes of S. gordonii were compared to those of published S. pneumoniae strains. Both conserved and species-specific genes were identified. Putative intergenic regulatory sites such as the conserved combox sequence thought to be a binding site for competence sigma factor, were found preceding S. gordonii late responsive genes. In contrast, S. gordonii early CSP-responsive genes were not preceded by S. pneumoniae conserved direct repeats. These studies provide the first insights into a genome-wide transcriptional response of an oral commensal organism. They offer an extensive analysis of transcriptional changes that accompany competence in S. gordonii and form a basis for future intra- and inter-species comparative analyses of this ecologically important phenotype. Keywords: gene expression design
Project description:<p>Bacterial metabolism in oral biofilms is comprised of complex networks of nutritional chains and biochemical regulations. These processes involve both intraspecies and interspecies networks as well as interactions with components from host saliva, gingival crevicular fluid, and dietary intake. In a previous paper, a large salivary glycoprotein, mucin MUC5B, was suggested to promote a dental health-related phenotype in the oral type strain of <em>Streptococcus gordonii</em> DL1, by regulating bacterial adhesion and protein expression. In this study, nuclear magnetic resonance-based metabolomics was used to examine the effects on the metabolic output of monospecies compared to dual species early biofilms of two clinical strains of oral commensal bacteria, <em>S. gordonii</em> and <em>Actinomyces naeslundii</em>, in the presence of MUC5B. The presence of <em>S. gordonii</em> increased colonization of <em>A. naeslundii</em> on salivary MUC5B, and both commensals were able to utilize MUC5B as a sole nutrient source during early biofilm formation. The metabolomes suggested that the bacteria were able to release mucin carbohydrates from oligosaccharide side chains as well as amino acids from the protein core. Synergistic effects were also seen in the dual species biofilm metabolome compared to the monospecies, indicating that <em>A. naeslundii</em> and <em>S. gordonii</em> cooperated in the degradation of salivary MUC5B. A better understanding of bacterial interactions and salivary-mediated regulation of early dental biofilm activity is meaningful for understanding oral biofilm physiology and may contribute to the development of future prevention strategies for biofilm-induced oral disease.</p>
Project description:Recent studies have shown that the transcriptional landscape of the pleiomorphic fungus Candida albicans is highly dependent upon growth conditions. Here using a dual RNA-seq approach we identified 299 C. albicans and 72 Streptococcus gordonii genes that were either up- or down-regulated specifically as a result of co-culturing these human oral cavity microorganisms. Seventy five C. albicans genes involved in responses to chemical stimuli, regulation, homeostasis, protein modification and cell cycle were statistically (P ≤0.05) upregulated, while 36 genes mainly involved in transport and translation were down-regulated. Upregulation of filamentation-associated TEC1 and FGR42 genes, and of ALS1 adhesin gene, concurred with previous evidence that the C. albicans yeast to hypha transition is promoted by S. gordonii. Increased expression of genes required for arginine biosynthesis in C. albicans was potentially indicative of a novel oxidative stress response. The transcriptional response of S. gordonii to C. albicans was less dramatic, with only eight S. gordonii genes significantly (P ≤0.05) up-regulated ≥ twofold (glpK, rplO, celB, rplN, rplB, rpsE, ciaR, and gat). The expression patterns suggest that signals from S. gordonii cause a positive filamentation response in C. albicans, while S. gordonii appears to be transcriptionally less influenced by C. albicans.