Novel DNA binding protein of Treponema denticola regulates the response against oxygen stress and be associated with expression of virulence factors

Oxygen is a fatal stress for periodontal pathogenic bacteria composed of obligate anaerobes. Although Treponema denticola is a major pathogen of periodontitis, it remains unclear the mechanism of oxygen stress responses. T. denticola gene, TDE_0127, was reported to be upregulated by oxygen exposure. However, its exact function has not yet been clarified. In this study the potential involvement of TDE_0127 in oxygen stress response and the virulence of T. denticola was evaluated using TDE_0127 deletion mutant. To verify the difference in gene expression in the mutant, the mutation in genome of the strains used in this study was investigated by next-generation sequencing.