title: Identification and functional analysis of an ammonium transporter in Streptococcus mutans.
abstract: Streptococcus mutans, a Gram-positive bacterium, is considered to be a major etiologic agent of human dental caries and reported to form biofilms known as dental plaque on tooth surfaces. This organism is also known to possess a large number of transport proteins in the cell membrane for export and import of molecules. Nitrogen is an essential nutrient for Gram-positive bacteria, though alternative sources such as ammonium can also be utilized. In order to obtain nitrogen for macromolecular synthesis, nitrogen-containing compounds must be transported into the cell. However, the ammonium transporter in S. mutans remains to be characterized. The present study focused on characterizing the ammonium transporter gene of S. mutans and its operon, while related regulatory genes were also analyzed. The SMU.1658 gene corresponding to nrgA in S. mutans is homologous to the ammonium transporter gene in Bacillus subtilis and SMU.1657, located upstream of the nrgA gene and predicted to be glnB, is a member of the PII protein family. Using a nrgA-deficient mutant strain (NRGD), we examined bacterial growth in the presence of ammonium, calcium chloride, and manganese sulfate. Fluorescent efflux assays were also performed to reveal export molecules associated with the ammonium transporter. The growth rate of NRGD was lower, while its fluorescent intensity was much higher as compared to the parental strain. In addition, confocal laser scanning microscopy revealed that the structure of biofilms formed by NRGD was drastically different than that of the parental strain. Furthermore, transcriptional analysis showed that the nrgA gene was co-transcribed with the glnB gene. These results suggest that the nrgA gene in S. mutans is essential for export of molecules and biofilm formation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Osaka University Graduate School of Dentistry, Suita, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Arifah Chieko
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Ardin
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuyo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fujita
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Osaka University Graduate School of Dentistry, Suita, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Kayoko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nagayama
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama, Japan.
authors.forename: Yukiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takashima
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Osaka University Graduate School of Dentistry, Suita, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Ryota
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nomura
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Osaka University Graduate School of Dentistry, Suita, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakano
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Osaka University Graduate School of Dentistry, Suita, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ooshima
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama, Japan.
authors.forename: Michiyo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Matsumoto-Nakano
mesh_terms: D064751:Ammonium Compounds / Q000378:metabolism*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D018441:Biofilms; D001692:Biological Transport; D018533:Biomass; D005089:Exocytosis; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D009154:Mutation; D009876:Operon; D013295:Streptococcus mutans / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D064751:Ammonium Compounds; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins