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Identification of a signalling molecule involved in bacterial intergeneric communication

¹ School of Dentistry, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, TN 37208, USA
² Department of Periodontics and Endodontics, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14214, USA
³ Department of Oral Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610-0424, USA

Correspondence
Hua Xie
hxie{at}mmc.edu

The development of complex multispecies communities such as biofilms is controlled by interbacterial communication systems. We have previously reported an intergeneric communication between two oral bacteria, Streptococcus cristatus and Porphyromonas gingivalis, that results in inhibition of fimA expression. Here, we demonstrate that a surface protein, arginine deiminase (ArcA), of S. cristatus serves as a signal that initiates intergeneric communication. An ArcA-deficient mutant of S. cristatus is unable to communicate with P. gingivalis. Furthermore, arginase activity is not essential for the communication, and ArcA retains the ability to repress expression of fimA in the presence of arginine deiminase inhibitors. These results present a novel mechanism by which intergeneric communication in dental biofilms is accomplished.

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