• Proceedings of the PSK Conference
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• 2002.10a
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• pp.332.1-332.1
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• 2002

Streptococcus vestibularis is a urease-producing oral bacterium. frequently isolated from vestibular mucosa of human oral cavity. Ureolysis by S. vestibularis and other ureolytic oral bacteria is believed to be crucially involved in oral microbial ecology and oral health. Genomic library of the S. vestibularis ATCC49124 was constructed in an E. coli plasmid vector and the urease-positive transformants harboring the urease gene cluster were isolated on Christensen-urea agar plates. The minimal DNA region required for the urease activity was located on a 5.6 kb DNA fragment. (omitted)

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.286-290
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• 2006

A genomic library of Streptococcus vestibularis ATCC49124 was constructed in an E. coli plasmid vector, and the urease-positive transformants harboring the urease gene cluster were isolated on Christensen-urea agar plates. The minimal DNA region required for urease activity was located in a 5.6 kb DNA fragment, and a DNA sequence analysis revealed the presence of a partial ureI gene and seven complete open reading frames, corresponding to ureA, B, C, E, F, G, and D, respectively. The nucleotide sequence over the entire ure gene cluster and 3'-end flanking region of S. vestibularis was up to 95% identical to that of S. salivarius, another closely related oral bacterium, and S. thermophilus, isolated from dairy products. The predicted amino acid sequences for the structural peptides were 98-100% identical to the corresponding peptides in S. salivarius and S. thermophilus, respectively, whereas those for the accessory proteins were 96-100% identical. The recombinant E. coli strain containing the S. vestibularis ure gene cluster expressed a high level of the functional urease holoenzyme when grown in a medium supplemented with 1 mM nickel chloride. The enzyme was purified over 49-fold by using DEAE-Sepharose FF, Superdex HR 200, and Mono-Q HR 5/5 column chromatography. The specific activity of the purified enzyme was 2,019 U/mg, and the Michaelis constant ($K_{m}$) of the enzyme was estimated to be 1.4 mM urea. A Superose 6HR gel filtration chromatography study demonstrated that the native molecular weight was about 196 kDa.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.353-362
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• 2009

The present study was performed to observe the effect of phytoncide on oral normal microflora and the inhibitory effect of the surviving resident oral bacteria on F. nucleatum. In this study, saliva from each of 20 healthy subjects was treated with 1% phytoncide from Japanese Hinoki (Chamaecyparis obtusa Sieb. et Zucc.). The surviving salivary bacterium were isolated on blood agar plates and identified by 16S rDNA sequencing. In order to select inhibitory isolates against F. nucleatum, the isolates from the phytoncide-treated saliva were cultured with F. nucleatum. The results are as follows: 1. Among the 200 surviving resident oral bacterium, 70(35.0%) bacterium inhibit the growth of F. nucleatum on blood agar plates. 2. Among the 70 bacterium which inhibit F. nucleatum, Streptococcus salivarius was 41.3%(45/109), Streptococcus sanguinis was 28%.(7/25), Streptococcus mitis was 20%(3/15), Streptococcus parasanguinis was 33.3%(3/9), Streptococcus Alactolyticus was 100%(8/8), Streptococcus vestibularis was 28.6%(2/7) and Streptococcus sp. was 50%(2/4). Taken together, among the surviving resident oral bacterium, Streptococcus salivarius, Streptococcus sanguinis, Streptococcus mitis were mainly observed to inhibit F. nucleatum. and they may exert an additional inhibitory activity against the periodontopathic bacterium. Therefore, phytoncide can be used to prevent and cease the progress of periodontal disease, halitosis. Thus it is expected to promote oral health.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.175-180
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• 2013

Xylitol is a five-carbon sugar alcohol that reduces the incidence of caries by inhibiting the growth of oral streptococci, including Streptococcus mutans. Since xylitol is transported via the fructose phosphotransferase system, we hypothesized that it could also affect the growth of other oral bacteria strains. We tested the effects of xylitol against non-periodontopathogenic oral bacteria frequently found in healthy subjects as well as periodontopathogens including Porphyromonas gingivalis, Treponema denticola, and Tannerella forsythia. With 5% xylitol, Streptococcus vestibularis and Gemella morbillorum showed marked growth inhibition. With 10% xylitol, all of the tested periodontopathogens and Actinomyces naeslundii showed marked growth inhibition, whereas the growth inhibition of Neisseria mucosa, Neisseria sicca and Veillonella parvula was mild only. Xylitol is a widely used sweetener and the concentration used in our experiment is easily achieved in the oral cavity. If xylitol reduces the growth of periodontopathogens more preferentially, it could also reduce the prevalence of these pathogens and have clinical utility in the prevention or treatment of periodontal disease.