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Updated: Jun 3, 2026

Monitoring the Assembly of a Secreted Bacterial Virulence Factor Using Site-specific Crosslinking
Published on: December 17, 2013
A hybrid two-component system of Tannerella forsythia affects autoaggregation and post-translational modification of
Daisuke Niwa1, Kiyoshi Nishikawa, Hiroshi Nakamura
1Department of Endodontics, School of Dentistry, Aichi Gakuin University, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Japan.
Abstract:
Tannerella forsythia is a Gram-negative oral anaerobe closely associated with both periodontal and periapical diseases. The ORF TF0022 of strain ATCC 43037 encodes a hybrid two-component system consisting of an N-terminal histidine kinase and a C-terminal response regulator. Disruption of the TF0022 locus enhanced autoaggregation of the broth-cultured cells. Comparative proteome analyses revealed that two S-layer proteins in the TF0022 mutant exhibited decreased apparent masses by denaturing gel electrophoresis, suggesting a deficiency in post-translational modification. Furthermore, the mutant decreased the production of a glycosyltransferase encoded by TF1061 that is located in a putative glycosylation-related gene cluster. Quantitative real-time PCR revealed reduced transcription of TF1061 and the associated genes in the TF0022 mutant. These results indicate that TF0022 upregulates the expression of the glycosylation-related genes and suggest modulation of the autoaggregation of T. forsythia cells by a possible post-translational modification of cell-surface components.
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