The bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae is one of the leading causes of fatal infections affecting humans. Intriguingly, phylogenetic analysis shows that the species constitutes one evolutionary lineage in a cluster of the otherwise commensal Streptococcus mitis strains, with which humans live in harmony. In a comparative analysis of 35 genomes, including phylogenetic analyses of all predicted g...

One of the major components of dental polymerized resin-based restorative materials is 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) and its release in monomeric form interferes with the oral cavity environment. This study aimed to evaluate HEMA monomeric effects on the co-culture of Streptococcus mitis and human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs). Streptococcus mitis DS12 and S. mitis ATCC 6249 were co-cultivat...

dental caries, periodontitis and other mucosal diseases are caused by a complex community of microorganisms. this study aimed to investigate the antimicrobial properties of saponins of four important oil yielding medicinal plant extracts on selected oral pathogens that are involved in such diseases.saponins were extracted from bauhinia purpurea, madhuca longifolia, celastrus paniculatus and sem...

Recoveries of Streptococcus mutans from human dental plaque were lower when plated on mitis-salivarius agar obtained from Baltimore Biological Laboratories as compared with mitis-salivarius agar obtained from Difco Laboratories. However, no difference in recoveries of established laboratory strains of S. mutans was observed between these two agar preparations.

The effects of histatins on coaggregation between Porphyromonas gingivalis 381 and Streptococcus mitis ATCC 9811 were investigated by using a turbidimetric assay. The coaggregation activity was significantly inhibited by histatins 5 and 8 and strongly by lysozyme. Tritium-labeled histatin 8 bound to P. gingivalis cells but not to S. mitis cells.

The oral streptococcal group (mitis phylogenetic group) currently consists of nine recognized species, although the group has been traditionally difficult to classify, with frequent changes in nomenclature over the years. The pneumococcus (Streptococcus pneumoniae), an important human pathogen, is traditionally distinguished from the most closely related oral streptococcal species Streptococcus...

Seven strains of viridans streptococci of the species Streptococcus sanguis, S. mutans and S. mitis were investigated for autolysis. The effect of pH, salt concentration and temperature on the autolytic process was studied in Na2HPO4/NaH2PO4 buffer. Whole cells and walls of all strains autolysed most rapidly at pH values above 7. Autolysis of whole cells of S. sanguis and one strain of S. mitis...

The influence of Streptococcus mitis BMS biosurfactants on the adhesion of eight pioneer and four cariogenic oral bacterial strains was, for a first screening, examined in a microtiter plate assay. The adhesion to pellicle-coated wells of three cariogenic strains was inhibited >70% by the biosurfactants, while only one pioneer strain showed >70% reduction. The reduction for the other strains di...