1887

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Volume 70, Issue 12

VicRK and CovR polymorphisms in strains associated with cardiovascular infections No Access

Abstract

, a common species of the oral microbiome, expresses virulence genes promoting cariogenic dental biofilms, persistence in the bloodstream and cardiovascular infections.

Virulence gene expression is variable among strains and controlled by the transcription regulatory systems VicRK and CovR.

This study investigates polymorphisms in the and loci in strains isolated from the oral cavity or from the bloodstream, which were shown to differ in expression of , and downstream genes.

The transcriptional activities of , v and were compared by RT-qPCR between blood and oral strains after exposure to human serum. PCR-amplified promoter and/or coding regions of and of 18 strains (11 oral and 7 blood) were sequenced and compared to the reference strain UA159.

Serum exposure significantly reduced and / transcript levels in most strains (<0.05), but reductions were higher in oral than in blood strains. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were detected in regulatory and coding regions, but SNPs affecting the CovR effector domain were only present in two blood strains. Although was highly conserved, showed several SNPs, and SNPs affecting VicK regions important for autokinase activity were found in three blood strains.

This study reveals transcriptional and structural diversity in and /, and identifies polymorphisms of functional relevance in blood strains, indicating that and might be important loci for adaptation to host selective pressures associated with virulence diversity.

  • Received:
  • Accepted:
  • Published Online:
Keyword(s): histidine kinase , polymorphism , single nucleotide , Streptococcus mutans and virulence factors
Funding
This study was supported by the:
  • Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (Award PNPD-2013)
    • Principle Award Recipient: ErikaN. Harth-Chu
  • Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (Award 2015/22967-6)
    • Principle Award Recipient: LíviaA. Alves
  • Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (Award 2017/19899-4)
    • Principle Award Recipient: LetíciaT. Oliveira
  • Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (Award Code 001)
    • Principle Award Recipient: NotApplicable
  • Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (Award 2018/02054–4)
    • Principle Award Recipient: RenataO. Mattos-Graner
© 2021 The Authors
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2021-12-23
2024-04-23
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VicRK and CovR polymorphisms in Streptococcus mutans strains associated with cardiovascular infections
J. Med. Microbiol. 70, 001457 (2021); https://doi.org/10.1099/jmm.0.001457
/content/journal/jmm/10.1099/jmm.0.001457
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