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Peptidoglycan synthesis in Tannerella forsythia: Scavenging is the modus operandi
Author(s) -
Ruscitto A.,
Sharma A.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
molecular oral microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.18
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 2041-1014
pISSN - 2041-1006
DOI - 10.1111/omi.12210
Subject(s) - peptidoglycan , tannerella forsythia , forsythia , biochemistry , microbiology and biotechnology , biofilm , bacteria , amino sugar , biology , chemistry , cell wall , medicine , genetics , honeysuckle , alternative medicine , traditional chinese medicine , pathology
Summary Tannerella forsythia is a Gram‐negative oral pathogen strongly associated with periodontitis. This bacterium has an absolute requirement for exogenous N ‐acetylmuramic acid (Mur NA c), an amino sugar that forms the repeating disaccharide unit with amino sugar N ‐acetylglucosamine (Glc NA c) of the peptidoglycan backbone. In silico genome analysis indicates that T. forsythia lacks the key biosynthetic enzymes needed for the de novo synthesis of Mur NA c, and so relies on alternative ways to meet its requirement for peptidoglycan biosynthesis. In the subgingival niche, the bacterium can acquire Mur NA c and peptidoglycan fragments (muropeptides) released by the cohabiting bacteria during their cell wall breakdown associated with cell division. Tannerella forsythia is able to also use host sialic acid (Neu5Ac) in lieu of Mur NA c or muropeptides for its survival during the biofilm growth. Evidence suggests that the bacterium might be able to shunt sialic acid into a metabolic pathway leading to peptidoglycan synthesis. In this review, we explore the mechanisms by which T. forsythia is able to scavenge Mur NA c, muropeptide and sialic acid for its peptidoglycan synthesis, and the impact of these scavenging activities on pathogenesis.