Streptococcus

Streptococcus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Bacteria
Phylum: Bacillota
Class: Bacilli
Order: Lactobacillales
Family: Streptococcaceae
Genus: Streptococcus
Rosenbach, 1884
Species[1]

Streptococcus is a genus of gram-positive or spherical bacteria that belongs to the family Streptococcaceae, within the order Lactobacillales (lactic acid bacteria), in the phylum Bacillota.[2] Cell division in streptococci occurs along a single axis, thus when growing they tend to form pairs or chains, which may appear bent or twisted. This differs from staphylococci, which divide along multiple axes, thereby generating irregular, grape-like clusters of cells. Most streptococci are oxidase-negative and catalase-negative, and many are facultative anaerobes (capable of growth both aerobically and anaerobically).

The term was coined in 1877 by Viennese surgeon Albert Theodor Billroth (1829–1894),[3] by combining the prefix "strepto-" (from Ancient Greek: στρεπτός, romanizedstreptós, lit.'easily twisted, pliant'[4]), together with the suffix "-coccus" (from Modern Latin: coccus, from Ancient Greek: κόκκος, romanized: kókkos, lit.'grain, seed, berry'.[5]) In 1984, many bacteria formerly grouped in the genus Streptococcus were separated out into the genera Enterococcus and Lactococcus.[6] Currently, over 50 species are recognised in this genus. This genus has been found to be part of the salivary microbiome.[7]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt Parte AC. "Streptococcus". LPSN.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Sherris was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "streptococcus". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  4. ^ στρεπτός in Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, revised and augmented throughout by Jones, Sir Henry Stuart, with the assistance of McKenzie, Roderick. Oxford: Clarendon Press. In the Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University.
  5. ^ κόκκος in Liddell and Scott
  6. ^ Facklam R (October 2002). "What happened to the streptococci: overview of taxonomic and nomenclature changes". Clinical Microbiology Reviews. 15 (4): 613–630. doi:10.1128/CMR.15.4.613-630.2002. PMC 126867. PMID 12364372.
  7. ^ Wang K, Lu W, Tu Q, Ge Y, He J, Zhou Y, et al. (March 2016). "Preliminary analysis of salivary microbiome and their potential roles in oral lichen planus". Scientific Reports. 6 (1): 22943. Bibcode:2016NatSR...622943W. doi:10.1038/srep22943. PMC 4785528. PMID 26961389.