MICROBIAL GENOME PROJECT STREPTOCOCCUS MUTANS

描述(改编自《调查员摘要》)：调查员 建议测定变形链球菌全基因组序列 这个应用程序。几十年的流行病学、生化和动物 研究表明，变形链球菌是引起肺炎的主要病原体。 人类的龋齿(龋齿)。龋齿是最常见的一种 困扰人类的传染病，在美国，84% 年满17岁的人中，有证据表明现在或过去有龋齿。这个 在美国，治疗牙科感染的费用高达数十亿美元 每年，变形链球菌造成了大约90%的这种情况 感染。事实上，对变形链球菌引起的龋齿的治疗 大约占美国所有牙科费用的50%。在全球范围内，世界卫生 该组织认为龋齿是最常见的口腔疾病 在世界上，有报道说，这些感染往往在许多人中得不到治疗 由于缺乏可用的牙科保健，儿童在一些地区受到伤害。此外，变形链球菌是 偶尔与非口腔感染有关，主要是亚急性感染 细菌性心内膜炎。相当大的研究努力和国家研究所 已经花费了牙科研究的财政支持，以努力 然而，开发一种疫苗来预防变形链球菌引起的龋齿， 目前还没有出现真正有效的预防人类龋齿的策略。这个 首席调查员的实验室是最早对此进行调查的实验室之一 在分子水平上的生物体，负责克隆， 对许多基因进行测序和表征，包括那些编码的基因 细胞壁相关蛋白，胞外蛋白参与 细胞外黏附的右旋糖苷和操纵子的聚集和产生 与糖的新陈代谢有关。目前，本金 调查员实验室，与The 俄克拉荷马大学诺曼分校正在完成人类基因组的测序 化脓性链球菌及其对大卫·戴尔实验室的协助 淋病奈瑟氏菌基因组测序部门 这些项目由美国国立卫生研究院资助。确定了S. 变种人可能会导致新的和迄今未知的发现 涉及毒力和致病性的基因和因子，到新的 分子流行病学和临床诊断学中的应用 阐明生长所必需的生理因素，并使之合理化 探索药物干预和疫苗开发的新途径。

DESCRIPTION (Adapted from the Investigator's Abstract): The investigators propose to determine the complete genome sequence of Streptococcus mutans in this application. Decades of epidemiological, biochemical and animal studies have demonstrated that S. mutans is the principal causative agent of human dental caries (tooth decay). Dental caries is one of the most common infectious diseases afflicting humans, and in the United States, 84 percent of persons aged 17 years have evidence of present or past tooth decay. The cost of treating dental infections in the US is billions of dollars annually, and S. mutans is responsible for about 90 percent of these infections. Indeed, treatment of tooth decay caused by S. mutans accounts for about 50 percent of all US dental costs. Globally, the World Health Organization considers dental caries to be the most widespread oral disease in the world and reports that these infections are often untreated in many areas due to lack of available dental care. Additionally, S. mutans is occasionally associated with nonoral infections, principally subacute bacterial endocarditis. Considerable research effort and National Institute of Dental Research financial support has been expended in an effort to develop a vaccine to protect against S. mutans caused tooth decay, however, no truly effective strategy that prevents caries in humans has emerged. The principal investigator's laboratory was one of the first to investigate this organism at the molecular level and has been responsible for cloning, sequencing, and characterizing a number of genes including those encoding cell wall associated proteins, extracellular proteins involved with aggregation and production of adherent extracellular dextrans, and operons involved with the metabolism of sugars. Currently, the principal investigator's laboratory, in collaboration with Bruce A. Roe of the University of Oklahoma, Norman, is completing the sequence of the genome of Streptococcus pyogenes and assisting the laboratory of David W. Dyer of his department in the sequencing of the genome of Neisseria gonorrhoeae; both projects are funded by the NIH. The determination of the sequence of S. mutans will potentially lead to discovery of new and heretofore unknown genes and factors involved in virulence and pathogenicity, to new applications in molecular epidemiology and clinical diagnostics, to the elucidation of physiological factors essential for growth, and to rational approaches to new avenues to drug intervention and vaccine development.