Identification by biotinylated DNA probes of Capnocytophaga species isolated from supragingival calculus.

The distribution, genetic relatedness, and peptidase activity in hydrolyzing N-benzoyl-L-arginine-p-nitroanilide by Capnocytophaga species isolated from calculus- and non-calculus-formers were determined in this study. The proportion and prevalence of Capnocytophaga species were higher in plaque samples from the calculus group than in those from the non-calculus group, and these bacteria showed high peptidase activity. C. gingivalis were found more frequently in the calculus group than in the non-calculus group, and possessed much higher peptidase activity than C. ochracea and C. sputigena. Black-pigmented colonies were also recovered more frequently from the calculus group than from the non-calculus group. Since these organisms had little or no peptidase activity, they were not studied further.