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Updated: Mar 14, 2026

Generation of a Gene-disrupted Streptococcus mutans Strain Without Gene Cloning
Published on: October 23, 2017
A Single Nucleotide Change in the Promoter mutp Enhances Fluoride Resistance of Streptococcus mutans
Ying Liao1,2,3, Bernd W Brandt3, Min Zhang1,2
1State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
Abstract:
Previously, we identified a single nucleotide mutation in the promoter (mutp) of the fluoride antiporter-coding genes in a naturally fluoride-resistant Streptococcus mutans strain. Here, we studied the role of this mutation in a defined genetic background. The results confirmed that this mutation alone confers fluoride resistance on S. mutans, as shown by growth and lactic acid production assays. This resistance was explained by constitutively higher mutp promoter activity and upregulation of the fluoride antiporter-coding genes.
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