Infection and Immunity, December 2000, p. 6912-6916, Vol. 68, No. 12
0019-9567/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Department of Preventive Dentistry, Kyushu University Faculty of Dental Science, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan
Received 17 July 2000/Returned for modification 6 September 2000/Accepted 20 September 2000
Methyl mercaptan production by oral bacteria is thought to be one
of the main causes of oral malodor. We examined the ability of
periodontopathic Porphyromonas gingivalis to produce methyl mercaptan from L-methionine and found that the
invasive strains W83 and W50 produced large amounts of methyl
mercaptan. We cloned and sequenced the mgl gene encoding
L-methionine-
-deamino-
-mercaptomethane-lyase (METase)
from P. gingivalis W83. The structural mgl gene
consisted of 1,200 bp and encoded a 43.3-kDa protein. To
examine the role of methyl mercaptan in the pathogenesis of
P. gingivalis, a METase-deficient mutant of P. gingivalis W83 was constructed. The methionine degradation activity and virulence of the mutant (M1217) and the parent strain (W83) in mice were compared. M1217 showed a marked decrease in the
formation of methyl mercaptan from L-methionine and
decreased virulence compared with the wild-type strain W83. These
results suggest that methyl mercaptan not only is one of the sources of oral malodor, but may also play a role in the pathogenicity of P. gingivalis.
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