Utilization of different MurNAc sources by the oral pathogen Tannerella forsythia and role of the inner membrane transporter AmpG.

Background: The Gram-negative oral pathogen Tannerella forsythia strictly depends on the external supply of the essential bacterial cell wall sugar N-acetylmuramic acid (MurNAc) for survival because of the lack of the common MurNAc biosynthesis enzymes MurA/MurB. The bacterium thrives in a polymicrobial biofilm consortium and, thus, it is plausible that it procures MurNAc from MurNAc-containing peptidoglycan (PGN) fragments (muropeptides) released from cohabiting bacteria during natural PGN turnover or cell death. There is indirect evidence that in T.

Peptidoglycan-type analysis of the N-acetylmuramic acid auxotrophic oral pathogen Tannerella forsythia and reclassification of the peptidoglycan-type of Porphyromonas gingivalis.

Background: Tannerella forsythia is a Gram-negative oral pathogen. Together with Porphyromonas gingivalis and Treponema denticola it constitutes the "red complex" of bacteria, which is crucially associated with periodontitis, an inflammatory disease of the tooth supporting tissues that poses a health burden worldwide. Due to the absence of common peptidoglycan biosynthesis genes, the unique bacterial cell wall sugar N-acetylmuramic acid (MurNAc) is an essential growth factor of T.

-Acetylmuramic Acid (MurNAc) Auxotrophy of the Oral Pathogen : Characterization of a MurNAc Kinase and Analysis of Its Role in Cell Wall Metabolism.

is an anaerobic, Gram-negative oral pathogen that thrives in multispecies gingival biofilms associated with periodontitis. The bacterium is auxotrophic for the commonly essential bacterial cell wall sugar acetylmuramic acid (MurNAc) and, thus, strictly depends on an exogenous supply of MurNAc for growth and maintenance of cell morphology. A MurNAc transporter (Tf_MurT; Tanf_08375) and an ortholog of the etherase MurQ (Tf_MurQ; Tanf_08385) converting MurNAc-6-phosphate to GlcNAc-6-phosphate were recently described for In between the respective genes on the genome, a putative kinase gene is located.