Pleiotropic Regulation of Virulence Genes in Streptococcus mutans by the Conserved Small Protein SprV

Streptococcus mutans , an oral pathogen associated with dental caries, colonizes tooth surfaces as polymicrobial biofilms known as dental plaque.S. mutans expresses several virulence factors that allow the organism to tolerate environmental fluctuations and compete with other microorganisms. We recently identified a small hypothetical protein (90 amino acids) essential for the normal growth of the bacterium. Inactivation of the gene, SMU.2137, encoding this protein caused a significant growth defect and loss of various virulence-associated functions. AnS. mutans strain lacking this gene was more sensitive to acid, temperature, osmotic, oxidative, and DNA damage-inducing stresses. In addition, we observed an altered protein profile and defects in biofilm formation, bacteriocin production, and natural competence development, possibly due to the fitness defect associated with SMU.2137 deletion. Transcriptome sequencing revealed that nearly 20% of theS. mutans genes were differentially expressed upon SMU.2137 deletion, thereby suggesting a pleiotropic effect. Therefore, we have renamed this hitherto uncharacterized gene assprV (s treptococcalp leiotropicr egulator ofv irulence). The transcript levels of several relevant genes in thesprV mutant corroborated the phenotypes observed uponsprV deletion. Owing to its highly conserved nature, inactivation of thesprV ortholog inStreptococcus gordonii also resulted in poor growth and defective UV tolerance and competence development as in the case ofS. mutans . Our experiments suggest that SprV is functionally distinct from its homologs identified by structure and sequence homology. Nonetheless, our current work is aimed at understanding the importance of SprV in theS. mutans biology.IMPORTANCE Streptococcus mutans employs several virulence factors and stress resistance mechanisms to colonize tooth surfaces and cause dental caries. Bacterial pathogenesis is generally controlled by regulators of fitness that are critical for successful disease establishment. Sometimes these regulators, which are potential targets for antimicrobials, are lost in the genomic context due to the lack of annotated homologs. This work outlines the regulatory impact of a small, highly conserved hypothetical protein, SprV, encoded byS. mutans . We show that SprV affects the transcript levels of various virulence factors required for normal growth, biofilm formation, stress tolerance, genetic competence, and bacteriocin production.