Streptococcus viridans
Classification
Bacteria; Fermicutes; Bacilli; Lactobacillales; Streptococcaceae
Species
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NCBI: [1] |
Streptococcus viridians
Description and Significance
Streptococcus viridians is a catalase negative and gram positive bacteria characterized as chained cocci. It is found on mucosal membranes such as the oral cavity and the gastrointestinal tract and has a very similar genetic sequence to S. pneumonniae (C. Doern et. al., 2010.)
S. viridians can cause numerous infections including meningitis, arthritis, and septicemia. Those who are infected by this bacteria, may become resistant to various treatments such as antibiotics such as penicillin, drugs for reducing symptoms of cystic fibrosis, and chemotherapy. (D. Beighton et. al., 1991.)
Genome Structure
S. viridians typically contain about 900 genes. The genome is typically circular, containing 2,146,661 base pairs within the sequence (Denapaite et al., 2010).
One interesting feature is that it is closely related to Streptococcus pneunomiae. Amplification using the method polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and gel electrophoresis show that there is very little difference between these species (Suzuki et al., 2005).
Cell Structure, Metabolism and Life Cycle
Interesting features of cell structure; how it gains energy; what important molecules it produces.
Recombination and horizontal gene transfer (Thompson et al., 2005)
Ecology and Pathogenesis
Habitat; symbiosis; biogeochemical significance; contributions to environment.
If relevant, how does this organism cause disease? Human, animal, plant hosts? Virulence factors, as well as patient symptoms.
References
Author
Page authored by Lucy Borschke, student of Prof. Bradley Tolar at UNC Wilmington.
