Abiotrophia species in early dental plaque.

The most characteristic traits that distinguish Abiotrophia strains from other streptococci are nutrient requirements, satellitism and pyrrolidonyl arylamidase activity. The presence of Abiotrophia strains was studied in early dental plaque formed on sucrose-containing and sucrose-free (glucose-containing) diets. The isolates were from 0- to 3-day dental plaque formed on the buccal surface of a lower premolar in six subjects. Identification of Abiotrophia strains was based on their pyrrolidonyl arylamidase activity. They were among the predominant cultivable microorganisms isolated from diluted suspensions of early dental plaque formed on both diets. Using biochemical tests without testing for pyrrolidonyl arylamidase activity, the Abiotrophia strains would be biochemically identified as Streptococcus mitis or unidentified streptococci, and many isolates first classified as unidentified streptococci were Abiotrophia strains. Generally, identifications using partial 16S rRNA sequences confirmed the identifications obtained biochemically. However, Abiotrophia elegans and Gemella strains were biochemically identified as Abiotrophia adiacens. Abiotrophia strains produce hydrogen sulfide, which may influence the metabolism and ecology of dental plaque and act as a virulence factor in periodontal disease. They are not able to grow on tryptic soy agar. In the present study, some S. mitis strains were not able to grow on mitis salivarius agar, and some Abiotrophia strains were able to grow on this medium. These observations indicate that the use of these media for estimation of total viable counts and number of streptococci introduces systematic error in studies of microorganisms in dental plaque.