{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"institution":[{"name":"bioRxiv"}],"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,7]],"date-time":"2026-02-07T05:03:00Z","timestamp":1770440580283,"version":"3.49.0"},"posted":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,16]]},"group-title":"Microbiology","reference-count":61,"publisher":"openRxiv","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,16]],"date-time":"2026-01-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1768521600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,14]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>\n                  <jats:bold>Abstract<\/jats:bold>\n                <\/jats:title>\n                <jats:p>\n                  The genus\n                  <jats:italic>Streptococcus<\/jats:italic>\n                  contains some of the most important commensals and pathogens of the human microbiome. To obtain the fatty acids required for cell membranes,\n                  <jats:italic>Streptococcus<\/jats:italic>\n                  either produce fatty acids\n                  <jats:italic>de novo<\/jats:italic>\n                  through the fatty acid biosynthesis (\n                  <jats:italic>fab<\/jats:italic>\n                  ) pathway or uptake host fatty acids through the fatty acid kinase (\n                  <jats:italic>fak<\/jats:italic>\n                  ) pathway. Although both the\n                  <jats:italic>fab<\/jats:italic>\n                  and\n                  <jats:italic>fak<\/jats:italic>\n                  pathways represent potential therapeutic targets to prevent or treat infection, progress is limited because of an incomplete understanding of taxon-to-taxon variability in streptococcal lipid metabolism. Here, we examined the role of\n                  <jats:italic>de novo<\/jats:italic>\n                  monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) synthesis in physiology and virulence-associated traits in\n                  <jats:italic>Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus pyogenes,<\/jats:italic>\n                  and\n                  <jats:italic>Streptococcus pneumoniae,<\/jats:italic>\n                  three major pathogens that cause disease at distinct body sites. In all three species, deletion of\n                  <jats:italic>fabM<\/jats:italic>\n                  abolished MUFA production and caused severe growth defects, decreased stress tolerance, increased antibiotic susceptibility, and defects in cell viability, morphology, and division. In\n                  <jats:italic>S. mutans,<\/jats:italic>\n                  loss of\n                  <jats:italic>fabM<\/jats:italic>\n                  also markedly reduced competence signaling and production of the mutacin IV bacteriocin. Deletion of\n                  <jats:italic>fabM<\/jats:italic>\n                  increased susceptibility to killing by human neutrophils in\n                  <jats:italic>S. mutans<\/jats:italic>\n                  and\n                  <jats:italic>S. pneumoniae,<\/jats:italic>\n                  but not\n                  <jats:italic>S. pyogenes<\/jats:italic>\n                  . Together, these findings illustrate that MUFA synthesis is broadly important for streptococcal physiology and cell membrane homeostasis, while its contribution to pathogenesis is strongly species- and context-dependent, providing leads to guide development of novel therapeutic and\/or preventative strategies.\n                <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.64898\/2026.01.14.699484","type":"posted-content","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,16]],"date-time":"2026-01-16T15:40:12Z","timestamp":1768578012000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Monounsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis is critical for streptococcal envelope homeostasis and stress tolerance"],"prefix":"10.64898","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5378-322X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jonathon L.","family":"Baker","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomaterial & Biomedical Sciences OHSU School of Dentistry Portland, OR, 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