Establishment of method for search of functional domain in Streptococcus mutans

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25862013
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Orthodontics/Pediatric dentistry
• Research Institution: Okayama University
• Principal Investigator: TAKASHIMA Yukiko 岡山大学, 医歯(薬)学総合研究科, 助教 (30589768)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: Streptococcus mutans / グルカン結合タンパク / 齲蝕 / バイオインフォマティクス

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Streptococcus mutans produces glucan-binding proteins (Gbps), which participate in biofilm development. Among those, GbpC encoded by the gbpC is known to possess a cariogenic protein. We examined the dextran-binding domain of GbpC using bioinformatics analysis. First, truncated recombinant GbpC (rGbpC) including the upstream or downstream region of the gbpC were produced, and dextran-binding ability was examined. The rate of dextran-binding of truncated rGbpC including the upstream region was higher than that including the downstream region. Next, 5 regions were specified as possible molecular binding sites using bioinformatics analysis and individual mutant strains with deletion of each region were generated, dextran-binding was again examined. The rate of dextran-binding for the mutant strain deficient of the center region was significantly lower as compared to the others. These results suggest that the dextran-binding domain may be located in the center of the gbpC.

Free Research Field

医歯薬学