Essential role for the gtfA gene encoding a putative glycosyltransferase in the adherence of Porphyromonas gingivalis.
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.
Narimatsu
Masahiro
M
Department of Restorative Dentistry and Endodontology, Osaka University Graduate School of Dentistry, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan. narimatsu@dent.osaka-u.ac.jp
Noiri
Yuichiro
Y
Itoh
Shousaku
S
Noguchi
Nobuo
N
Kawahara
Takashi
T
Ebisu
Shigeyuki
S
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
D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D016695:Glycosyltransferases