title: Genes involved in cell wall localization and side chain formation of rhamnose-glucose polysaccharide in Streptococcus mutans.
abstract: We identified in Streptococcus mutans six new genes (rgpA through rgpF), whose disruption results in a loss of serotype-specific antigenicity, specified by the glucose side chains of rhamnose-glucose polysaccharide from the cell wall. Rhamnose and glucose content of the cell wall decreased drastically in all these disruption mutants, except that in the rgpE mutant only the glucose content decreased. RgpC and RgpD are homologous to ATP-binding cassette transporter components and may be involved in polysaccharide export, whereas RgpE may be a transferase of side chain glucose.
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Dentistry, Kyushu University Faculty of Dentistry, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan. yoshidha@mbox.nc.kyushu-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamashita
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tsukioka
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tomihisa
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakano
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Koga
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002473:Cell Wall / Q000737:chemistry; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D005947:Glucose; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016254:Mutagenesis, Insertional; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology; D011817:Rabbits; D012210:Rhamnose; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013295:Streptococcus mutans / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial; D005947:Glucose; D012210:Rhamnose