Phylogenetic diversity in fim and mfa gene clusters between Porphyromonas gingivalis and Porphyromonas gulae, as a potential cause of host specificity

Background: Periodontopathic bacteria Porphyromonas gingivalis in humans and Porphyromonas gulae in animals are phylogenetically close and commonly have FimA and Mfa1 fimbriae. However, little is known about how fimA and mfa1 are phylogenetically different between P. gingivalis and P. gulae. Here, we examined phylogenetic diversity in their fim and mfa gene clusters. Methods: Twenty P. gulae strains were isolated from the periodontal pocket of 20 dogs. For their genomic information, along with 64 P. gingivalis and 11 P. gulae genomes, phylogenetic relationship between the genotypes of fimA and mfa1 was examined. Variability of amino acid sequences was examined in the three-dimensional structure of FimA. The distance between strains was calculated for fim and mfa genes. Results: Some fimA genotypes in P. gulae were close to particular types in P. gingivalis. Two types of mfa1 were classified as 70-kDa and 53-kDa protein-coding mfa1. The variable amino acid positions were primarily at the outer part of FimA. The genes encoding the structural proteins and the main component were similarly distant from the reference strain in P. gingivalis, but not in P. gulae. Conclusions: The differences in the gene clusters between P. gingivalis and P. gulae may result in their host specificity.