Disease relevance of gtfA

• Molecular organization and expression of the gtfA gene of Streptococcus mutans LM7 [1].
• The ethanol-insoluble product formed from sucrose by purified enzyme encoded by the gtfA gene from Streptococcus mutans, expressed in recombinant Escherichia coli, was analyzed by 13C and 31P nuclear magnetic resonance [2].
• Cloned gtfA gene of Streptococcus mutans LM7 alters glucan synthesis in Streptococcus sanguis [3].

High impact information on gtfA

• Nucleotide sequence of the gtfA gene from S. mutans GS-5 [4].
• The gtfA, ftf, and scrB genes were inserted into streptococcal mapping vector pVA891 adjacent to an Emr gene, whereas the Emr marker was inserted directly into the gtfB gene [5].
• The Streptococcus mutans serotype c gtfA gene encodes a 55-kilodalton sucrose-hydrolyzing enzyme [6].
• Impairment of melibiose utilization in Streptococcus mutans serotype c gtfA mutants [6].
• S. mutans gtfA mutant strains synthesized less alpha-galactosidase activity inducible by raffinose than wild-type strains [6].

Chemical compound and disease context of gtfA

• Streptococcus mutans gtfA gene specifies sucrose phosphorylase [2].
• A cloned glucosyltransferase (gtfA) fragment, inserted adjacent to an erythromycin resistance (Eryr) marker in plasmid pVA891, was used in transformation experiments to determine the genetic location of gftA on the Streptococcus mutans chromosome [7].
• A kanamycin resistance element (OmegaKm), which is flanked by transcriptional and translational terminators and which is selectable in both Escherichia coli and streptococci, was inserted into a 2.4-kb EcoRI fragment carrying the S. mutans gtfA gene [8].

Biological context of gtfA

• The Streptococcus mutans LM7 gene gtfA was cloned in Escherichia coli along with flanking regions of the chromosome as a fragment representing 10.3 kilobases (kb) of streptococcal DNA [1].
• A plasmid that carried an erythromycin resistance determinant and an internal fragment of the gtfA gene but that was unable to replicate in streptococci was used to transform S. mutans [9].
• To investigate the role of the GtfA enzyme in virulence, we constructed S. mutans gtfA mutants from three cariogenic serotype c strains [9].
• We hypothesize that melibiose use by S. mutans requires the interaction of the GtfA enzyme, or another gene product under the control of the gtfA promoter, with other gene product(s) involved in melibiose transport or hydrolysis [6].
• No sequence homologies were observed between the gtfA gene or protein and the gtfI or gtfB gene and its protein [10].

Anatomical context of gtfA

• Immunologically identical gtfA protein appears to be present in S. mutans cells of serotypes c, e, and f, and a cross-reacting protein was made by serotype b cells [11].

Associations of gtfA with chemical compounds

• Analysis of S. mutans gtfA mutants revealed that the mutant strains were specifically impaired in the ability to use melibiose as a sole carbon source [6].
• In S. sanguis, this gtfA allele may play a role in glucan synthesis by interacting with extant high-molecular-weight glucosyltransferases [3].
• An internal HincII fragment of the gtfA gene was removed and replaced with a DNA fragment containing a tetracycline resistance determinant [1].
• A sucrose phosphorylase (gtfA(-)) mutant and a reference strain (NCTC-10449S) were additional controls [12].

Other interactions of gtfA

• However, gtfA cotransferred with ftf and scrB at frequencies of approximately 96 and 80%, respectively [5].
• 0. By subcloning various combinations of DNA fragments from pSUCRI, it was demonstrated that the dextranase gene (designated dexB) can be separated from the gtfA gene and still be efficiently expressed in both E. coli and B. subtilis [13].
• The PCR and colony hybridisation procedures were based on amplification and detection of two genes: the wapA gene which encodes a surface protein found in all S. mutans strains and the gtfA gene which lies within the msm operon [14].

Analytical, diagnostic and therapeutic context of gtfA

• Sequence analysis of the glucosyltransferase A gene (gtfA) from Streptococcus mutans Ingbritt [10].
• The colony hybridisation and PCR results confirmed loss of the gtfA gene in the melibiose-negative isolates [14].

References