Glucose-sucrose-potassium tellurite-bacitracin agar, an alternative to mitis salivarius-bacitracin agar for enumeration of Streptococcus mutans.

An agar medium for selective recovery and enumeration of Streptococcus mutans was developed as an alternative to mitis salivarius-bacitracin (MSB) agar. Combinations of dyes, antibiotics, and tellurite were added to a nonselective medium which, because of its sucrose content, allowed easy recognition of S. mutans colonies. Candle jar incubation for 2 days, by comparison with anaerobic incubation, reduced background flora but did not diminish S. mutans recoveries from clinical samples. Quantitative comparisons were made of the simultaneous recoveries of a number of authentic S. mutans serotype representatives and fresh clinical isolates, using various glucose-sucrose-potassium tellurite-bacitracin (GSTB) formulations and mitis salivarius, MSB, and blood agars. Mitis salivarius counts were not detectably different from blood counts, but counts on MSB were distinctly lower. A formulation of the new medium containing 5% glucose 5% sucrose, 0.001% potassium tellurite, 0.3 U of bacitracin per ml (hence GSTB), and 2% agar gave recoveries nearly equal to those on mitis salivarius agar and much greater than those on MSB. The medium yielded readily recognized S. mutans colonies and facilitated detection of intracellular polysaccharide formers upon flooding with I2 reagent. Freshly isolated serotype c, E, and f colonies could often be distinguished from serotype d and g colonies, a distinction made reliable by testing for intracellular polysaccharide. A study of 300 salivary samples revealed GSTB to give significantly higher recoveries than MSB. About 72% of all samples were substantially underestimated for S. mutans with MSB, and 6.7% of samples were falsely negative for S. mutans with MSB. Recovery of background flora on GSTB was as low or lower than on MSB, and both types of agar could be stored for at least 9 weeks without notable change of selectivity. Thus, GSTB agar appears to be simple and reliable to use and requires no anaerobic incubation. Caution is voiced about interpretation of data previously reported which evaluated S. mutans on MSB agar.