Functional characterization of Porphyromonas gingivalis Mfa1 fimbriae

在这项研究中，我们重点研究了mfa1基因下游的四个ORF(mfa2、PG0180、PG0181和PG0182)，这些ORF编码了主要的fimbrin Mfa1。我们证明了mfa2参与了mfa1菌毛的长度调节。从PG0182突变体纯化的Mfa1菌毛中既没有PG0180也没有PG0181，这表明PG0182是PG0180和PG0181组装成纤维所必需的。与亲本菌株相比，下游基因的突变体提高了自聚集活性。这些数据表明，mfa1基因下游产物参与了mfa1菌毛的功能和结构。

In this study we focused on the four ORFs (mfa2, PG0180, PG0181, and PG0182) downstream of the mfa1 gene encoding the major fimbrilin Mfa1. We demonstrated that mfa2 is involved in the length regulation of the Mfa1 fimbriae. Neither PG0180 nor PG0181 were present in the purified Mfa1 fimbriae from the PG0182 mutant, suggesting that PG0182 is required for the assembly of PG0180 and PG0181 into fiber. The mutants of downstream genes increased autoaggregation activity compared with the parent strain. These data indicates that downstream products of the mfa1 gene are involved in function and structure of Mfa1 fimbriae.