A spontaneous lactate dehydrogenase deficient mutant of Streptococcus rattus for use as a probiotic in the prevention of dental caries

J. D. Hillman, E. McDonell, T. Cramm, C. H. Hillman, R. T. Zahradnik

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Aims: To study the ability of daily applications of Streptococcus rattus strain JH145 to affect the numbers of an implanted Streptococcus mutans strain in a rat model. Methods and Results: A spontaneous L(+)-lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)-deficient mutant of Streptococcus rattus, JH146, was isolated by screening on selective medium and compared with a previously isolated spontaneous LDH deficient strain, JH145. Both strains were shown to have single base pair deletion mutations in the structural gene (ldh) for LDH, and reversion frequencies were approximately the same. Animals treated once daily with ≥106 CFU (colony forming units) of JH145 showed a statistically significant decrease in the proportion of implanted S. mutans to total cultivable bacteria in oral swab samples. The rate of decrease in S. mutans levels was dose-dependent. No adverse effects were observed by in-life observation of treated animals, and histopathological, haematological and blood chemistry analyses were unremarkable. Conclusions: The results presented indicate that daily application of JH145, a naturally occurring LDH-deficient variant of S. rattus, can compete with S. mutans for its habitat on the tooth surface. Significance and Impact of the Study: S. rattus JH145 has potential as a probiotic for use in the prevention of dental caries.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1551-1558
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Applied Microbiology
Volume107
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2009

Keywords

  • Dental caries
  • Lactate dehydrogenase
  • Probiotic
  • Streptococcus rattus

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biotechnology
  • Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

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