Dj. Harrington et Rrb. Russell, MULTIPLE CHANGES IN CELL-WALL ANTIGENS OF ISOGENIC MUTANTS OF STREPTOCOCCUS-MUTANS, Journal of bacteriology, 175(18), 1993, pp. 5925-5933
Isogenic mutants of Streptococcus mutans LT11, deficient in the produc
tion of the wall-associated protein antigens A and B, were generated b
y recombinant DNA technology. The hydrophobicity, adherence, and aggre
gation of the mutants were compared with those of the parent strain. T
hese studies indicated that hydrophobicity, adherence, and saliva- or
sucrose-induced aggregation were unaltered in the A- mutant but that h
ydrophobicity and adherence to saliva-coated hydroxylapatite were grea
tly reduced in the B- mutant whilst sucrose-dependent adherence and ag
gregation were increased. To determine whether these changes correlate
d with changes in the mutated gene product alone, the levels of a numb
er of cell wall antigens were determined in each of the mutants. The l
oss of antigen A resulted in significantly reduced levels of wall-asso
ciated lipoteichoic acid, and loss of antigen B resulted in reductions
in both antigen A and lipoteichoic acid. Data presented here thus sug
gest that changes in the expression of one wall antigen can have a dra
matic effect on the levels of others.