Role of Streptococcus mutans in human dental decay.

The phenomenon of oxygen toxicity is universal, but only recently have we begun to understand its basis in molecular terms. Redox enzymes are notoriously nonspecific, transferring electrons to any good acceptor with which they make electronic contact. This poses a problem for aerobic organisms, since molecular oxygen is small enough to penetrate all but the most shielded active sites of redox enzymes. Adventitious electron transfers to oxygen create superoxide and hydrogen peroxide, which are partially reduced species that can oxidize biomolecules with which oxygen itself reacts poorly. This review attempts to present our still-incomplete understanding of how reactive oxygen species are formed inside cells and the mechanisms by which they damage specific target molecules. The vulnerability of cells to oxidation lies at the root of obligate anaerobiosis, spontaneous mutagenesis, and the use of oxidative stress as a biological weapon.

Pathways of Oxidative Damage

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) constitute a group of gram-positive bacteria united by a constellation of morphological, metabolic, and physiological characteristics The general description of the bacteria included in the group is gram-positive, nonsporing, nonrespiring cocci or rods, which produce lactic acid as the major end product during the fermentation of carbohydrates The LAB term is intimately associated with bacteria involved in food and feed fermentation, including related bacteria normally associated with the (healthy) mucosal surfaces of humans and animals The boundaries of the group have been subject to some controversy, but historically the genera Lactobacillus, Leuconostoc, Pediococcus, and Streptococcus form the core of the group Taxonomic revisions of these genera and the description of new genera mean that LAB could, in their broad physiological definition, comprise around 20 genera However, from a practical, food-technology point of view, the following genera are considered the principal LAB: Aerococcus, Carnobacterium, Enterococcus, Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, Leuconostoc, Oenococcus, Pediococcus, Streptococcus, Tetragenococcus, Vagococcus, and Weissella The genus Bifidobacterium, often considered in the same context as the genuine lactic acid bacteria and sharing some of their typical features, is phylogenetically unrelated and has a unique mode of sugar fermentation The classification of lactic acid bacteria into different genera is largely based on morphology, mode of glucose fermentation, growth at different temperatures, configuration of the lactic acid produced, ability to grow at high salt concentrations, and acid or alkaline tolerance Chemotaxonomic markers such as fatty acid composition and constituents of the cell wall are also used in classification In addition, the present taxonomy relies partly on true phylogenetic relationships,

Lactic acid bacteria: classification and physiology.

Factors affecting the fermentative lactic acid production from renewable resources1

Another explanation for the toxicity of fermentation acids at low pH: anion accumulation versus uncoupling

Streptococcus mutans JC2 produced formate, acetate, ethanol, and lactate when suspensions were incubated with an excess of galactose or mannitol under strictly anaerobic conditions. The galactose- or mannitol-grown cell suspensions produced more formate, acetate, and ethanol than the glucose-grown cells even when incubated with glucose. The levels of lactate dehydrogenase and fructose 1,6-bisphosphate were not significantly different in these cells, but the level of pyruvate formate-lyase was higher in the galactose- or mannitol-grown cells, and that of triose phosphate was lower in the galactose-grown cells. This suggests that the regulation of pyruvate formate-lyase may play a major role in the change of the fermentation patterns. The cells of S. mutans grown on glucose produced a significant amount of volatile products even in the presence of excess glucose under strictly anaerobic conditions. However, when the anaerobically grown cells were exposed to air, only lactate was produced from glucose. When cells were anaerobically grown on mannitol and then exposed to air for 2 min, only trace amounts of fermentation products were formed from mannitol under anaerobic conditions. It was found that the pyruvate formate-lyase in the cells was inactivated by exposure of the cells to air.

Involvement of oxygen-sensitive pyruvate formate-lyase in mixed-acid fermentation by Streptococcus mutans under strictly anaerobic conditions.

Pyruvate formate-lyase (EC 2.3.1.54) from Streptococcus mutans strain JC2 was purified in an anaerobic glove box, giving a single band on disk and sodium dodecyl sulfate electrophoresis. This enzyme was immediately inactivated by exposure to the air. Enzyme activity was unstable even when stored anaerobically, but the activity was restored by preincubating the inactivated crude enzyme with S-adenosyl-L-methionine, oxamate, and reduced for ferredoxin or methylviologen. On the other hand, the purified enzyme was not reactivated. Either D-glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate or dihydroxyacetone phosphate strongly inhibited this enzyme. The inhibitory effects of these compounds were largely influenced by enzyme concentration. The inhibition of these triose phosphates in cooperation with the reactivating effect of ferredoxin and the fluctuations of both the enzyme and the triose phosphate levels may efficiently regulate the pyruvate formate-lyase activity in S. mutans in vivo.

K Abbe

Papers

Involvement of oxygen-sensitive pyruvate formate-lyase in mixed-acid fermentation by Streptococcus mutans under strictly anaerobic conditions.

Purification of pyruvate formate-lyase from Streptococcus mutans and its regulatory properties.