Hydrophobicity and adherence of oral streptococci after repeated subculture in vitro

Abstract

Fresh isolates of Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus sanguis, and Streptococcus salivarius from human dental plaque were all highly hydrophobic. After repeated subculture in vitro on blood agar, strains of S. mutans serotype c showed decreased hydrophobicity, whereas serotype dlg strains did not. Parallel to the decreased hydrophobicity in the serotype c strains, an impaired ability to adhere to hydroxyapatite was observed. A similar but less pronounced decrease in

Bacterial adherence to hydrocarbons: a useful technique for studying cell surface hydrophobicity

“…Various details which were originally employed in the paper describing the assay have since been modified and amended in various investigations. Parameters which have been altered include the suspending buffer [14,[17][18][19][20][21][22][23], the volumes and ratios of the phases employed [15][16][17][18][19][20][21]23,24], the test tubes used [15,19,20,23,24], duration of mixing [15,16,[18][19][20][21]23,24], and the test hydrocarbons employed [20]. Results obtained in this and other laboratories have shown that several aspects of the assay appear to be of major importance:…”

The influence of saliva on the hydrophobic surface properties of bacteria isolated from oral sites of macaque monkeys

“…The influence of adsorbed salivary components on the surface hydrophobic properties of oral bacteria has not been previously reported though coating S. mutans cells with saliva reduces their affinity for hydroxyapatite (HA) [15]. Westergrun and co-workers [5] have shown that the hydrophobicity of S. mutans serotype c strains can be artificially reduced by repeated subculture on agar plates which correlated well with a reduction in the affinity of the cells for saliva-coated HA [7].…”

“…All bacteria were isolated from the oral cavities of monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) using previously described procedures [8][9][10] and had been subcultured no more than 4 times to minimize changes in their surface hydrophobic properties [7]. The methods used for the determination of the biochemical properties of the streptococci and their subsequent identification have been reported [8,11,12] except for the division of S. sanguis strains into 6 biotypes, which is shown in Table 1.…”

“…The mechanism of adherence is likely to be related to the hydrophobic surface properties of bacteria [3,4] and previous studies have shown Streptococcus mutans to be less hydrophobic than other oral streptococci [5,6]. However, the hydrophobicity of a given strain of S. mutans was shown to be influenced by cultural conditions [5,7].…”

Interactions between salivary agglutinins and strains of Streptococcus mutans with varying degrees of surface hydrophobicity

“…Most oral streptococci [1] and a majority of the bacteria adhering to teeth [2] have hydrophobic surface properties. Recent publications also indicate that such properties are important for the adherence of both S. mutans [3] and Streptococcus sanguis [4,5].…”