This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Hohwy, J.
Right arrow Articles by Kilian, M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Hohwy, J.
Right arrow Articles by Kilian, M.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Infection and Immunity, October 2001, p. 6055-6063, Vol. 69, No. 10
0019-9567/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/IAI.69.10.6055-6063.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Population Dynamics of Streptococcus mitis in Its Natural Habitat

Jesper Hohwy,1,2 Jesper Reinholdt,2 and Mogens Kilian1,*

Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology1 and Department of Oral Biology,2 Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Aarhus, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark

Received 9 November 2000/Returned for modification 17 April 2001/Accepted 18 July 2001

The purpose of this study was to examine the genetic structure of the typical commensal Streptococcus mitis biovar 1 in its natural habitat in the human oral cavity and pharynx and to investigate the role that selected microbial properties and host, spatial, and temporal factors play in determining the structure of the bacterial population. Consecutive samples were collected from buccal and pharyngeal mucosal surfaces of two infants, their four parents, and two elderly individuals over a period of approximately 1 year. A total of 751 isolates identified as S. mitis biovar 1 were typed by restriction endonuclease analysis (REA) and representative clones were typed by multilocus enzyme electrophoresis (MLEE). The genetic diversity of the S. mitis biovar 1 isolates collected from single infant hosts over a period of 9 to 10 months was found to be between 0.69 and 0.76, which is considerably higher than that previously observed for intestinal populations of Escherichia coli. The study provides evidence of the existence of both transient and persistent clones in adult individuals. In the two infants, however, none of 42 demonstrated clones were detected on more than a single occasion. Statistical calculations showed that the ability to persist was not distributed at random in the S. mitis biovar 1 population. However, neither immunoglobulin A1 protease activity nor the ability to bind alpha -amylase from saliva was a preferential characteristic of persistent genotypes. In contrast to current concepts of climax ecosystems, the species niche in the habitat appears to be maintained predominantly by a succession of clones rather than by stable strains. Several lines of evidence suggest that the major origin of "new" clones is the many other habitats in the respiratory tract that are occupied by this species.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Health Sciences, The Bartholin Bldg., University of Aarhus, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark. Phone: 45 8942 1735. Fax: 45 8619 6128. E-mail: kilian{at}microbiology.au.dk

Infection and Immunity, October 2001, p. 6055-6063, Vol. 69, No. 10
0019-9567/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/IAI.69.10.6055-6063.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Beighton, D. (2009). Can the Ecology of the Dental Biofilm Be Beneficially Altered?. ADR 21: 69-73 [Full Text]  
  • Do, T., Jolley, K. A., Maiden, M. C. J., Gilbert, S. C., Clark, D., Wade, W. G., Beighton, D. (2009). Population structure of Streptococcus oralis. Microbiology 155: 2593-2602 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Bek-Thomsen, M., Tettelin, H., Hance, I., Nelson, K. E., Kilian, M. (2008). Population Diversity and Dynamics of Streptococcus mitis, Streptococcus oralis, and Streptococcus infantis in the Upper Respiratory Tracts of Adults, Determined by a Nonculture Strategy. Infect. Immun. 76: 1889-1896 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Delorme, C., Poyart, C., Ehrlich, S. D., Renault, P. (2007). Extent of Horizontal Gene Transfer in Evolution of Streptococci of the Salivarius Group. J. Bacteriol. 189: 1330-1341 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Kirchherr, J. L., Bowden, G. H., Richmond, D. A., Sheridan, M. J., Wirth, K. A., Cole, M. F. (2005). Clonal Diversity and Turnover of Streptococcus mitis bv. 1 on Shedding and Nonshedding Oral Surfaces of Human Infants during the First Year of Life. CVI 12: 1184-1190 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Kotloff, K. L., Wasserman, S. S., Jones, K. F., Livio, S., Hruby, D. E., Franke, C. A., Fischetti, V. A. (2005). Clinical and Microbiological Responses of Volunteers to Combined Intranasal and Oral Inoculation with a Streptococcus gordonii Carrier Strain Intended for Future Use as a Group A Streptococcus Vaccine. Infect. Immun. 73: 2360-2366 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Dixit, S. M., Gordon, D. M., Wu, X.-Y., Chapman, T., Kailasapathy, K., Chin, J. J.-C. (2004). Diversity analysis of commensal porcine Escherichia coli - associations between genotypes and habitat in the porcine gastrointestinal tract. Microbiology 150: 1735-1740 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Haraldsson, G., Holbrook, W.P., Kononen, E. (2004). Clonal Persistence of Oral Fusobacterium nucleatum in Infancy. JDR 83: 500-504 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Cole, M. F., Evans, M. K., Kirchherr, J. L., Sheridan, M. J., Bowden, G. H. W. (2004). Study of Humoral Immunity to Commensal Oral Bacteria in Human Infants Demonstrates the Presence of Secretory Immunoglobulin A Antibodies Reactive with Actinomyces naeslundii Genospecies 1 and 2 Ribotypes. CVI 11: 473-482 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Hansen, S. M., Uldbjerg, N., Kilian, M., Sorensen, U. B. S. (2004). Dynamics of Streptococcus agalactiae Colonization in Women during and after Pregnancy and in Their Infants. J. Clin. Microbiol. 42: 83-89 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Paddick, J. S., Brailsford, S. R., Kidd, E. A. M., Gilbert, S. C., Clark, D. T., Alam, S., Killick, Z. J., Beighton, D. (2003). Effect of the Environment on Genotypic Diversity of Actinomyces naeslundii and Streptococcus oralis in the Oral Biofilm. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 69: 6475-6480 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Dabernat, H., Plisson-Saune, M.-A., Delmas, C., Seguy, M., Faucon, G., Pelissier, R., Carsenti, H., Pradier, C., Roussel-Delvallez, M., Leroy, J., Dupont, M.-J., De Bels, F., Dellamonica, P. (2003). Haemophilus influenzae Carriage in Children Attending French Day Care Centers: a Molecular Epidemiological Study. J. Clin. Microbiol. 41: 1664-1672 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Kaplan, J. B., Fine, D. H. (2002). Biofilm Dispersal of Neisseria subflava and Other Phylogenetically Diverse Oral Bacteria. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 68: 4943-4950 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»