Comprehensive Mutational Analysis of Sucrose-Metabolizing Pathways in Streptococcus mutans Reveals Novel Roles for the Sucrose Phosphotransferase System Permease

Sucrose is perhaps the most efficient carbohydrate for the promotion of dental caries in humans, and the primary caries pathogen Streptococcus mutans encodes multiple enzymes involved in the metabolism of this disaccharide. Here, we engineered a series of mutants lacking individual or combinations of sucrolytic pathways to understand the control of sucrose catabolism and to determine whether as-yet-undisclosed pathways for sucrose utilization were present in S. mutans. Growth phenotypes indicated that gtfBCD (encoding glucan exopolysaccharide synthases), ftf (encoding the fructan exopolysaccharide synthase), and the scrAB pathway (sugar-phosphotransferase system [PTS] permease and sucrose-6-PO4 hydrolase) constitute the majority of the sucrose-catabolizing activity; however, mutations in any one of these genes alone did not affect planktonic growth on sucrose. The multiple-sugar metabolism pathway (msm) contributed minimally to growth on sucrose. Notably, a mutant lacking gtfBC, which cannot produce water-insoluble glucan, displayed improved planktonic growth on sucrose. Meanwhile, loss of scrA led to growth stimulation on fructooligosaccharides, due in large part to increased expression of the fruAB (fructanase) operon. Using the LevQRST four-component signal transduction system as a model for carbohydrate-dependent gene expression in strains lacking extracellular sucrases, a PlevD-cat (EIIA(Lev)) reporter was activated by pulsing with sucrose. Interestingly, ScrA was required for activation of levD expression by sucrose through components of the LevQRST complex, but not for activation by the cognate LevQRST sugars fructose or mannose. Sucrose-dependent catabolite repression was also evident in strains containing an intact sucrose PTS. Collectively, these results reveal a novel regulatory circuitry for the control of sucrose catabolism, with a central role for ScrA.