Leave it to the bacteria that cause tooth decay to be able to live without something all cells were thought to require. Scientists have long believed a certain biochemical pathway involved in the folding and delivery of proteins to cell membranes is essential for survival. Now University of Florida researchers have discovered that Streptococcus mutans, the decay-causing organism that thrives in many a mouth, can do just fine without it. The findings, reported this month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, have rocked the cellular biology scientific community, which has long considered the pathway to be crucial. The report may also explain why strains of the bacteria can survive in the harsh acidic environment they create in the mouth.
