Hemagglutination and hydrophobicity of oral streptococci carrying fibrous structures

Abstract

Streptococcal strains carrying fibrous structures isolated from the tongue dorsum were identified and their hemagglutination and hydrophobic characteristics were examined. Morphologically different types of fibrils or fimbriae were detected in electron microscopic studies. Identification based on both biochemical characterization and DNA homology revealed that S. salivarius and S. oralis predominated. A total of 14% of the isolates aggregated with rabbit erythrocytes. Hydrophobicity of the streptococci differed from strain to strain. In more than half of the strains, 50% or less of the cells remained in the water phase after agitation with hexadecane. No correlation was found between the types of fibrils or fimbriae, hemagglutination and hydrophobicity, indicating that multilpe factors may exist in the adherence of oral streptococci as early colonizers.