AUTHOR=Jensen Christian S. , Norsigian Charles J. , Fang Xin , Nielsen Xiaohui C. , Christensen Jens Jørgen , Palsson Bernhard O. , Monk Jonathan M. 

TITLE=Reconstruction and Validation of a Genome-Scale Metabolic Model of Streptococcus oralis (iCJ415), a Human Commensal and Opportunistic Pathogen

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Genetics

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/genetics/articles/10.3389/fgene.2020.00116

DOI=10.3389/fgene.2020.00116

ISSN=1664-8021

ABSTRACT=<p>The mitis group of streptococci (MGS) is a member of the healthy human microbiome in the oral cavity and upper respiratory tract. Troublingly, some MGS are able to escape this niche and cause infective endocarditis, a severe and devastating disease. Genome-scale models have been shown to be valuable in investigating metabolism of bacteria. Here we present the first genome-scale model, iCJ415, for <italic>Streptococcus oralis</italic> SK141. We validated the model using gene essentiality and amino acid auxotrophy data from closely related species. iCJ415 has 71-76% accuracy in predicting gene essentiality and 85% accuracy in predicting amino acid auxotrophy. Further, the phenotype of <italic>S. oralis</italic> was tested using the Biolog Phenotype microarrays, giving iCJ415 a 82% accuracy in predicting carbon sources. iCJ415 can be used to explore the metabolic differences within the MGS, and to explore the complicated metabolic interactions between different species in the human oral cavity.</p>