Yuxing Chen

This study identifies genes critical for acid and oxidative stress tolerance in Streptococcus mutans using CRISPRi screens and reveals core physiological processes involved in stress adaptation.

The paper constructs a genome-wide CRISPRi library to identify acid tolerance genes in S. mutans and finds 95 associated genes involved in metabolism, tRNA modification, and transcriptional regulation.

This study identifies Arg68 on the lateral interface of S. mutans FtsZ as critical for maintaining its function under acid stress, offering a potential target for antimicrobial drugs.