Effect of nutrients on defined bacterial plaques and Streptococcus mutans C67-1 implantation in a model mouth

• Published in: Caries research Vol. 25; no. 2; p. 108
• Main Authors: Donoghue, H D, Perrons, C J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland 1991
• Subjects: Actinomyces - growth & development; Actinomyces - metabolism; Antibiosis; Colony Count, Microbial; Culture Media; Dental Plaque - microbiology; Ecology; Glucose - metabolism; Glycoproteins - metabolism; Humans; Models, Biological; Saliva, Artificial - metabolism; Salivary Proteins and Peptides - metabolism; Streptococcus - growth & development; Streptococcus - metabolism; Streptococcus mutans - growth & development; Streptococcus mutans - metabolism; Sucrose - metabolism; Veillonella - growth & development; Veillonella - metabolism
• ISSN: 0008-6568
• DOI: 10.1159/000261352

Actinomyces viscosus WVU 627, Streptococcus oralis LPA-1 and Veillonella dispar OMZ 193 were cocultured on teeth in a model mouth for 66 h. Synthetic saliva containing bovine salivary glycoprotein supported bacterial growth, although the delivery of an intermittent nutrient supplement, containing 1% (w/v) glucose or sucrose, gave greater bacterial cell and viable counts. When Streptococcus mutans C67-1 was super-inoculated onto 24-hour mixed plaques, it became established under all regimens, but there was pronounced colonization resistance. With saliva only, the proportion of S. mutans at 66 h was less than 0.5% of the total cultivable microflora. When a glucose supplement was delivered for 1 h every 6 h, S. mutans attained a final proportion of 2.4%. With sucrose, both S. mutans C67-1 and its non-cariogenic glucan-deficient mutant, C67-25, attained similar proportions of 15-20%. These experiments indicate how this model can be used to study the factors influencing colonizing ability and microbial interactions in biofilms under controlled conditions.