title: Essential role for the gtfA gene encoding a putative glycosyltransferase in the adherence of Porphyromonas gingivalis.
abstract: Porphyromonas gingivalis, an oral bacterium, might play a role in the pathogenesis or progression of adult periodontitis. In this study, we isolated from P. gingivalis a putative glycosyltransferase gene, designated gtfA, which had a consensus domain for glycosyltransferase in its N terminus. GtfA consisted of 248 amino acids and its predicted molecular mass was 28 kDa; however, as the molecular mass of endogenous GtfA protein was around 40 kDa, this suggested that GtfA had undergone some posttranslational modifications. To reveal the role of the gtfA gene in P. gingivalis, we established gtfA-deficient strains by allelic replacement. Morphologically, gtfA-deficient P. gingivalis lacked mature fimbriae. gtfA-deficient P. gingivalis also showed a very low ability for autoaggregation, and its ability to attach to epithelial cells was severely impaired. Thus, the results indicate that the gtfA gene is required for P. gingivalis autoaggregation as well as attachment to epithelial cells. These results suggest that GtfA might have an important role in the pathogenicity of P. gingivalis by regulating adhesion.
authors.affiliation: Department of Restorative Dentistry and Endodontology, Osaka University Graduate School of Dentistry, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan. narimatsu@dent.osaka-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Narimatsu
authors.forename: Yuichiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Noiri
authors.forename: Shousaku
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Itoh
authors.forename: Nobuo
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Noguchi
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kawahara
authors.forename: Shigeyuki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ebisu
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D001483:Base Sequence; D002460:Cell Line; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000382:microbiology; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000382:microbiology; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D016695:Glycosyltransferases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016254:Mutagenesis, Insertional; D016966:Porphyromonas gingivalis / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D016695:Glycosyltransferases