Streptococcus Mutans

Information about Streptococcus Mutans

Streptococcus mutans

Gram stain of S. mutans in thioglycollate broth culture.

Kingdom:	Bacteria
Phylum:	Firmicutes
Class:	Cocci
Order:	Lactobacillales
Family:	Streptococcaceae
Genus:	Streptococcus
Species:	*S. mutans*

Binomial name

Streptococcus mutans
Clarke 1924

Streptococcus mutans is a Gram-positive, facultatively anaerobic bacteria commonly found in the human oral cavity and is a significant contributor to tooth decay.^[1]^[2] The microbe was first described by Clarke in 1924.^[3]

Role in tooth decay

Along with S. sobrinus, S. mutans plays a major role in tooth decay, metabolizing sucrose to lactic acid.^[2] The acidic environment created in the mouth by this process is what causes the highly mineralized tooth enamel to be vulnerable to decay. S. mutans is one of a few specialized organisms equipped with receptors for adhesion to the surface of teeth. Sucrose is utilized by S. mutans to produce a sticky, extracellular, dextran-based polysaccharide that allows them to to each other forming plaque. S. mutans produces dextran via the enzyme dextransucrase (a hexosyltransferase) using sucrose as a substrate in the following reaction:

n sucrose → (glucose)_n + n fructose

Sucrose is the only sugar that S. mutans can use to form this sticky polysaccharide.^[1]

Conversely, many other sugars—glucose, fructose, lactose—can be digested by S. mutans, but they produce lactic acid as an end product. It is the combination of plaque and acid that leads to dental decay.^[4] Due to the role the S. mutans plays in tooth decay, there have been many attempts to make a vaccine for the organism. So far, such vaccines have not been successful in humans.^[5]

References

1. ^ Ryan KJ; Ray CG (editors) (2004). Sherris Medical Microbiology, 4th ed., McGraw Hill. ISBN 0-8385-8529-9.
2. ^ Loesche WJ (1996). Microbiology of Dental Decay and Periodontal Disease. In: Baron's Medical Microbiology (Baron S et al'', eds.), 4th ed., Univ of Texas Medical Branch. (via NCBI Bookshelf) ISBN 0-9631172-1-1.
3. ^ Clarke, JK (1924). "On the bacterial factor in the etiology of dental caries". Brit J Exp Pathol 5: 141–7.
4. ^ Madigan M; Martinko J (editors). (2005). Brock Biology of Microorganisms, 11th ed., Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-144329-1.
5. ^ Klein, J.P.; Scholler, M. (December 1998). "Recent Advances in the Development of a Streptococcus mutans Vaccine". European Journal of Epidemiology 4 (4): 419-425. Retrieved on 2007-05-15.

External links

MCHoralhealth.org

Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. Scientific classification also can be called scientific taxonomy, but should be distinguished from folk taxonomy, which lacks scientific basis.
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Bacteria

Phyla

Actinobacteria
Aquificae
Chlamydiae
Bacteroidetes/Chlorobi
Chloroflexi
Chrysiogenetes
Cyanobacteria
Deferribacteres
Deinococcus-Thermus
Dictyoglomi
Fibrobacteres/Acidobacteria
Firmicutes
Fusobacteria
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Firmicutes

Classes

Bacilli
Clostridia
Mollicutes
The Firmicutes are a division of bacteria, most of which have Gram-positive cell wall structure.
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Cocci (singular - coccus, from the Latin coccinus (scarlet) and derived from the Greek kokkos (berry) ) are any microorganism (usually bacteria) whose overall shape is spherical or nearly spherical.
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Lactobacillales

Families

Aerococcaceae
Carnobacteriaceae
Enterococcaceae
Lactobacillaceae
Leuconostocaceae
Streptococcaceae
The Lactobacillales are an order of Gram-positive bacteria that comprise the lactic acid bacteria.
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Streptococcaceae
Deibel & Seeley 1974

Genera

Lactococcus
Lactovum
Pilibacter
Streptococcus

The Streptococcaceae is a family of Gram-positive bacteria, placed within the order of Lactobacillales.
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Streptococcus
Rosenbach, 1884

Streptococcus is a genus of spherical Gram-positive bacteria, belonging to the phylum Firmicutes^[1] and the lactic acid bacteria group.
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binomial nomenclature is the formal system of naming species. The system is also called binominal nomenclature (particularly in zoological circles), binary nomenclature (particularly in botanical circles), or the binomial classification system.
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Gram-positive bacteria are those that retain a crystal violet dye during the Gram stain process.^[1] Gram-positive bacteria appear blue or violet under a microscope, while Gram-negative bacteria appear red or pink.
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A facultative anaerobic organism is an organism, usually a bacterium, that makes ATP by aerobic respiration if oxygen is present but is also capable of switching to fermentation. In contrast, obligate anaerobes die in presence of oxygen.
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If you are prevented from editing this page, and you wish to make a change, please discuss changes on the talk page, request unprotection, log in, or .
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The human mouth (or oral cavity) is covered by an upper and lower lip.

The mouth starts digestion by physically chewing the food and breaking it down with saliva.

The average male mouth holds a volume of about 100mL.
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Dental caries
Classification & external resources

Destruction of a tooth by cervical decay from dental caries
ICD-10 K 02.
ICD-9 521.0

DiseasesDB 29357
MedlinePlus 001055

Dental caries
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Metabolism is the complete set of chemical reactions that occur in living cells. These processes are the basis of life, allowing cells to grow and reproduce, maintain their structures, and respond to their environments. Metabolism is usually divided into two categories.
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Sucrose (common name: table sugar, also called saccharose) is a disaccharide (glucose + fructose) with the molecular formula C₁₂H₂₂O₁₁. Its systematic name is α-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-D-fructofuranose.
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Lactic acid (IUPAC systematic name: 2-hydroxypropanoic acid), also known as milk acid, is a chemical compound that plays a role in several biochemical processes.
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ACID (Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability) is a set of properties that guarantee that database transactions are processed reliably. In the context of databases, a single logical operation on the data is called a transaction.
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mineralized

This may also be a normal biological process which takes place during the life of an organism such as the formation of bone tissue or egg shells, largely with calcium.
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Tooth enamel is the hardest and most highly mineralized substance of the body,^[1] and with dentin, cementum, and dental pulp is one of the four major tissues which make up the tooth.
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Dextran is a complex, branched polysaccharide made of many glucose molecules joined into chains of varying lengths, used as an antithrombotic (anti-platelet), and to reduce blood viscosity.
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Polysaccharides are relatively complex carbohydrates. They are polymers made up of many monosaccharides joined together by glycosidic bonds. They are therefore very large, often branched, macromolecules. They tend to be amorphous, insoluble in water, and have no sweet taste.
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Hexosyltransferases are a type of glycosyltransferase that catalyze the transfer of a hexose.

Examples include:

glucosyltransferases - transfer glucose
galactosyltransferases - transfer galactose
fucosyltransferases - transfer fucose

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In biochemistry, a substrate is a molecule upon which an enzyme acts. Enzymes catalyze chemical reactions involving the substrate(s). The substrate binds with the enzyme's active site, and an enzyme-substrate complex is formed.
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Glucose (Glc), a monosaccharide (or simple sugar), is an important carbohydrate in biology. The living cell uses it as a source of energy and metabolic intermediate.
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Fructose (or levulose) is a simple sugar (monosaccharide) found in many foods and is one of the three most important blood sugars along with glucose and galactose. Honey, tree fruits, berries, melons, and some root vegetables, such as beets, sweet potatoes, parsnips, and
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Lactose is a disaccharide that consists of β-D-galactose and β-D-glucose molecules bonded through a β1-4 glycosidic linkage. Lactose makes up around 2-8% of the solids in milk. The name comes from the Latin word for milk, plus the -ose ending used to name sugars.
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Streptococcus

Streptococcus viridans is a pseudo-taxonomic term for a large group of generally non-pathogenic, commensal streptococcal bacteria that are either α-hemolytic and produce a green (hence the name viridans
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