Estimating Genotypic Diversity of Streptococcus mutans Isolated From Caries-Active and Caries-Free Individuals Among Indian Population.

Saravanan Poorni,Manali R Srinivasan,Arthi Balasubramaniam,Ms Nivedhitha

doi:10.7759/cureus.22436

Abstract

PurposeTo identify the genetic characterization of S mutans strains isolated from the caries-free and caries-active population using arbitrarily primed -polymerase chain reaction (AP-PCR).Materials and methodsThirty-five subjects with a decayed missing and filled teeth (DMFT) score of 0 were allocated to the caries-free group and 35 subjects with a DMFT score greater than four were allocated to the caries-active group and salivary samples were collected. The samples were processed and the colony forming units (CFU) of S mutans were determined for all the samples. About three colonies resembling S mutans from each subject were subjected to deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) isolation, a purification process was performed, and DNA was analyzed by AP-PCR.ResultsAmong the 210 isolates from 35 caries-active and 35 caries-free subjects that were analyzed by AP-PCR, 41.9% had a single genotype, 25.8% had two genotypes, 19.4% had three genotypes, 9.7% had four genotypes and 3.2% had more than four genotypes among the caries-free group. Among the caries-active group, 54.3% had a single genotype, 25.7% had two genotypes, 14.3% had three genotypes and 5.7% had four genotypes.ConclusionThe study concluded that different genotypic pattern was present in caries-free and caries-active subjects which indicate the occurrence of genetic polymorphism among the S mutans strains. There was no particular genotype of S mutans that was uniquely present in subjects in caries-active and caries-free individuals.

Highlights

Dental caries is considered a chronic, multifactorial, localized, post-eruptive transmissible infectious disease that leads to the destruction of dental hard tissue [1]
Among the 210 isolates from 35 caries-active and 35 caries-free subjects that were analyzed by arbitrarily primed -polymerase chain reaction (AP-PCR), 41.9% had a single genotype, 25.8% had two genotypes, 19.4% had three genotypes, 9.7% had four genotypes and 3.2% had more than four genotypes among the caries-free group
There was no particular genotype of S mutans that was uniquely present in subjects in caries-active and caries-free individuals

Summary

Introduction

Dental caries is considered a chronic, multifactorial, localized, post-eruptive transmissible infectious disease that leads to the destruction of dental hard tissue [1]. The two microbial species which are predominantly associated with dental caries are Streptococcus mutans (S mutans) and Streptococcus sobrinus (S sobrinus) which are frequently isolated from dental plaque. These species are found to produce large amounts of acids and extracellular polysaccharides and this, in turn, promotes dental caries [2,3]. Typing of S mutans may be useful to study the characteristics of S mutans genotypes, in terms of the concepts of diversity and to determine the number of different S mutans genotypes found in an individual. The commonality is generally a term used to specify the number of Streptococcus mutans genotypes that are shared among individuals in a population. Bowden described the necessity to understand the patterns of clonality among S mutans in the caries-free subjects [7]

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