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Infection and Immunity, November 2001, p. 6931-6941, Vol. 69, No. 11
0019-9567/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/IAI.69.11.6931-6941.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Cloning of the Streptococcus mutans Gene Encoding Glucan Binding Protein B and Analysis of Genetic Diversity and Protein Production in Clinical Isolates

Renata O. Mattos-Graner,1 Song Jin,1 William F. King,1 Tsute Chen,2 Daniel J. Smith,1 and Margaret J. Duncan2,*

Department of Immunology1 and Department of Molecular Genetics,2 The Forsyth Institute, Boston, Massachusetts 02115

Received 6 June 2001/Returned for modification 23 July 2001/Accepted 22 August 2001

Streptococcus mutans, the primary etiological agent of dental caries, produces several activities that promote its accumulation within the dental biofilm. These include glucosyltransferases, their glucan products, and proteins that bind glucan. At least three glucan binding proteins have been identified, and GbpB, the protein characterized in this study, appears to be novel. The gbpB gene was cloned and the predicted protein sequence contained several unusual features and shared extensive homology with a putative peptidoglycan hydrolase from group B streptococcus. Examination of gbpB genes from clinical isolates of S. mutans revealed that DNA polymorphisms, and hence amino acid changes, were limited to the central region of the gene, suggesting functional conservation within the amino and carboxy termini of the protein. The GbpB produced by clinical isolates and laboratory strains showed various distributions between cells and culture medium, and amounts of protein produced by individual strains correlated positively with their ability to grow as biofilms in an in vitro assay.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Molecular Genetics, The Forsyth Institute, 140 Fenway, Boston, MA 02115. Phone: (617) 262-5200, ext. 344. Fax: (617) 262-4021. E-mail: mduncan{at}forsyth.org.

Infection and Immunity, November 2001, p. 6931-6941, Vol. 69, No. 11
0019-9567/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/IAI.69.11.6931-6941.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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