Transcriptomic Responses to Coaggregation between Streptococcus gordonii and Streptococcus oralis
Siew Woh Choo, Waleed K. Mohammed, Naresh V. R. Mutha, Nadia Rostami, Halah Ahmed, Natalio Krasnogor, Geok Yuan Annie Tan, Nicholas S. Jakubovics
Abstract
Dental plaque is responsible for two of the most prevalent diseases in humans, dental caries and periodontitis. Controlling the formation of dental plaque and preventing the transition from oral health to disease requires a detailed understanding of microbial colonization and biofilm development. Streptococci are among the most common colonizers of dental plaque. This study identifies key genes that are regulated when oral streptococci bind to one another, as they do in the early stages of dental plaque formation. We show that specific genes are regulated in two different oral streptococci following the formation of mixed-species aggregates. The specific responses of S. gordonii to coaggregation with S. oralis are different from those to coaggregation with other oral bacteria. Targeting the key genes that are upregulated during interspecies interactions may be a powerful approach to control the development of biofilm and maintain oral health.