The <i>rag</i> Locus of <i>Porphyromonas gingivalis</i> Contributes to Virulence in a Murine Model of Soft Tissue Destruction

Abstract

The rag locus of Porphyromonas gingivalis encodes a putative TonB-dependent outer membrane receptor, RagA, and a 55-kDa immunodominant antigen, RagB. Inactivation of either ragA or ragB prevented expression of both RagA and RagB. Both the ragA and ragB mutants were significantly less virulent than wild-type strains in a murine model of infection.