ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Microbial Symbioses
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1612841
This article is part of the Research TopicMutualistic and Antagonistic Interactions in the Human Oral MicrobiomeView all 4 articles
LiaS gene from two-component system is essential for caries pathogenicity in dual-species biofilms of Streptococcus mutans and Candida albicans
Provisionally accepted
- Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China
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This study elucidated the critical role of the liaS gene in the Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) two-component signal (TCS) transduction system during cross-kingdom interactions with Candida albicans (C. albicans). This gene governs the cariogenic potential of dual-species biofilms. Gene expression analysis of cocultured samples indicated that compared with the wild-type (WT) and complemented strains (liaS --comp), liaS -exhibited impaired acid tolerance due to downregulated comDE expression. The liaS knockout mutant strain also presented reduced vicRK expression, leading to diminished glucosyltransferase (Gtf)-mediated bacterial adhesion, extracellular polysaccharide (EPS) synthesis, and acidic metabolite accumulation. Although C. albicans alleviated oxidative stress by secreting superoxide dismutase, liaS -markedly compromised the intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging capacity and reduced the survival rate during H2O2 treatment in single and dual-species. Furthermore, liaS -inactivation suppressed the early adhesion of C. albicans in dual-species biofilms by reducing the synthesis of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP). This work provides the first evidence that liaS orchestrates a multidimensional phenotypic regulatory network that coordinately modulates biofilm architecture and metabolic activity. This activity ultimately attenuates cariogenicity in vivo, thus highlighting liaS as a pivotal virulence determinant in cross-kingdom infections and emphasizing its potential as a therapeutic target against dental caries.
Keywords: Streptococcus mutans1, Candida albicans2, liaS3, two-component system4, biofilm5, extracellular polysaccharide6
Received: 16 Apr 2025; Accepted: 03 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Cao, Zeng, Yang, Gan, Chen and Huang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Xiaojing Huang, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China
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