# Oral Streptococcal Fitness And Virulence genes

> **NIH NIH R01** · VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $484,292

## Abstract

Project Summary
Streptococcus sanguinis is a commensal oral bacterium and a pioneer colonizer
of human teeth. It is associated with infective endocarditis and can enter the
bloodstream through oral lesions, invasive dental procedures or routine oral
activities such as chewing, flossing and brushing teeth. Recent developments in
genomic technologies have created an opportunity to study streptococcal fitness
genes as a whole by systems biology. This application proposes in Aim 1 to identify
genes required for S. sanguinis fitness in an infective endocarditis model by
screening a unique, comprehensive library of S. sanguinis genome-wide mutants.
In Aim 2, a comparable analysis will be performed in saliva, serum and blood using
ORF-seq analysis to clarify the findings of Aim 1 and to identify genes required for
fitness, but not growth in saliva. The fitness genes in saliva and blood will be
compared. Fitness genes that are located at critical hubs will be identified in
network analysis and those that are conserved among oral streptococci will be
identified by bioinformatics. In aim 3, the gene regulation of fitness genes will be
studied in depth. This systematic analysis will provide an unprecedented
understanding of streptococcal fitness genes at the molecular level and set the
stage for identification of specific targets for new therapeutics or prophylactics.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10889010
- **Project number:** 5R01DE030121-04
- **Recipient organization:** VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** TODD O. KITTEN
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $484,292
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-08-03 → 2026-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10889010

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10889010, Oral Streptococcal Fitness And Virulence genes (5R01DE030121-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10889010. Licensed CC0.

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