Identification of non-streptococcal organisms from human dental plaque grown on the Streptococcus-selective medium mitis-salivarius agar

• We identified non-streptococcal microorganisms growing on MS agar medium.
• The non-streptococcal microorganisms were identified at species level as Actinomyces naeslundii, Actinomyces oris and Actinomyces spp.
• No clear difference in colony morphology was observed between Actinomyces and Streptococcus strains on MS plates.

ObjectiveMitis-salivarius (MS) agar has been used widely in microbial epidemiological studies because oral viridans streptococci can be selectively grown on this medium. Even though the previous findings reported the limited selecting power of MS agar for streptococcus strains, the identities of non-streptococcal strains from human oral samples which can grow on this medium are not clear yet. In this study, we identified non-streptococcal organisms grown on MS agar plates by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and sequencing of the 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene.DesignEighty bacterial colonies on MS plates were isolated from plaque samples, and bacterial identification was achieved with the rapid ID 32 Strep system and mini API reader. The bacterial colonies identified as non-streptococci by the API system were selected for further identification. The 16S rRNA gene was amplified by PCR and verified using DNA sequencing analysis for identification. Sequences were compared with those of reference organisms in the genome database of the National Center for Biotechnology Information using the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST).ResultsAmong the 11 isolated non-streptococcal strains on MS plates, 3 strains were identified as Actinomyces naeslundii, 7 strains were identified as Actinomyces oris and 1 strain were identified as Actinomyces sp. using Blastn.ConclusionsIn this study, we showed that some oral Actinomyces species can grow on Streptococcus-selective MS agar plates.