Identification of virulence-associated genes in Streptococcus mutans by a genome-scale functional analysis

A bacterium called Streptococcus mutans that lives in the human mouth can cause tooth decay or dental caries worldwide.The ability of S. mutans to initiate dental caries is because this organism is able to form dental plaque (bacterial mass on the tooth surface), produce acids from dietary sugars, tolerate acids and compete against its competitors to become dominant in dental plaque that cause caries. These abilities of S. mutans are considered as virulence factors that are closely associated with the pathogenesis of this bacterium in dental caries. Our research aims to develop a high-throughtput screening technique for genome-scale funcational analysis of genes encoding these virulence factors of this pathogen. The new method will potentially become one of the most powerful techniques to determine virulence factors in bacterial pathogens. This technique will allow us to identify new targets for the development of therapeutic strategies to prevent dental caries or other relevant infections. The data obtained by using this technique will contribute to the body of knowledge that facilitates our understanding of functions of many genes in bacterial pathogens. When validated, this technique can be generally applicable to studying any other bacterial pathogens.