Dental caries, a prevalent oral infectious disease, is intricately linked to the biofilm formation
on the tooth surfaces by oral microbes. Among these, Streptococcus mutans plays a central …

Many bacteria are known to regulate their cooperative activities and physiological processes
through a mechanism called quorum sensing (QS), in which bacterial cells communicate …

The human pathogens Streptococcus pneumoniae and Streptococcus mutans have both
evolved complex quorum sensing (QS) systems that regulate the production of bacteriocins …

Within a given microbial population, a small subpopulation known as dormant persister cells
exists. This persistence property ensures the survival of the population as a whole in the …

Mucus barriers accommodate trillions of microorganisms throughout the human body while
preventing pathogenic colonization. In the oral cavity, saliva containing the mucins MUC5B …

Natural DNA transformation is a lateral gene transfer mechanism during which bacteria take
up naked DNA from their environment and stably integrate it in their genome. The proteins …

It is now clear that the most common oral diseases, dental caries and periodontitis, are
caused by mixed-species communities rather than by individual pathogens working in …

Commensal and beneficial microbes secrete myriad products which target the mammalian
host and other microbes. These secreted substances aid in bacterial niche development …

Streptococcus mutans produces bacteriocins that show antibacterial activity against several
bacteria. However, comprehensive analysis of these bacteriocins has not been well done. In …

For a long a time programmed cell death was thought to be a unique characteristic of higher
eukaryotes, but evidence has accumulated showing that programmed cell death is a …