Premium
Manganese transport by Streptococcus sanguinis in acidic conditions and its impact on growth in vitro and in vivo
Author(s) -
Puccio Tanya,
An SeonSook,
Schultz Alexander C.,
Lizarraga Claudia A.,
Bryant Ashley S.,
Culp David J.,
Burne Robert A.,
Kitten Todd
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
molecular microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.857
H-Index - 247
eISSN - 1365-2958
pISSN - 0950-382X
DOI - 10.1111/mmi.14854
Subject(s) - streptococcus sanguinis , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , mutant , streptococcus mutans , virulence , manganese , transporter , in vitro , biofilm , in vivo , strain (injury) , biochemistry , bacteria , gene , genetics , chemistry , organic chemistry , anatomy
Streptococcus sanguinis is an oral commensal and an etiological agent of infective endocarditis. Previous studies have identified the SsaACB manganese transporter as essential for endocarditis virulence; however, the significance of SsaACB in the oral environment has never been examined. Here we report that a Δ ssaACB deletion mutant of strain SK36 exhibits reduced growth and manganese uptake under acidic conditions. Further studies revealed that these deficits resulted from the decreased activity of TmpA, shown in the accompanying paper to function as a ZIP‐family manganese transporter. Transcriptomic analysis of fermentor‐grown cultures of SK36 WT and Δ ssaACB strains identified pH‐dependent changes related to carbon catabolite repression in both strains, though their magnitude was generally greater in the mutant. In strain VMC66, which possesses a MntH transporter, loss of SsaACB did not significantly alter growth or cellular manganese levels under the same conditions. Interestingly, there were only modest differences between SK36 and its Δ ssaACB mutant in competition with Streptococcus mutans in vitro and in a murine oral colonization model. Our results suggest that the heterogeneity of the oral environment may provide a rationale for the variety of manganese transporters found in S. sanguinis .