Beighton D, Hayday H, Walker J
J Gen Microbiol. 1982 Aug;128(8):1881-92. doi: 10.1099/00221287-128-8-1881.
The acquisition and transmission of Streptococcus mutans by 16 consecutively born infant monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) was studied. The 16 infant monkeys were weaned in four groups and caged together to form a commune. Transmission from mother to infant occurred infrequently. Streptococcus mutans was isolated from nine of the mothers but only from the dental plaque of two infant monkeys at weaning at which time the predominant streptococci were S. sanguis and S. mitior. One further animal was colonized by S. mutants during the formation of the commune, but only after it was caged with an infant harbouring the same organism. For 46 d after the completion of the commune, the monkeys were fed a starch-based diet during which time S. mutans of serotypes c, e or h were isolated from the faeces of all 16 animals and from the dental plaque taken from the developmental groove of the first deciduous molar of 11 animals. Faecal transmission appeared to be an important factor in the spread of S. mutans between monkeys in the commune. The monkeys were then fed a caries-promoting high sucrose diet resulting in a rapid increase in the proportion of S. mutans in the plaque and in the faeces. Streptococcus mutans serotype e was more frequently isolated from both plaque and faeces and its predominance may in part be due to the production of a bacteriocin active in vitro against S. mutans serotype h and other species of oral streptococci isolated from monkey dental plaque. The proportion of S. mutans in the developmental groove 8 d after the introduction of the high sucrose diet was significantly related to both the caries status of the groove and the total caries score 6 months later. The results suggest that, in this model of human dental caries, S. mutans is the major bacterial factor in the initiation of tooth decay.
对16只连续出生的幼年猕猴（食蟹猴）变形链球菌的获得和传播情况进行了研究。这16只幼年猕猴分成四组断奶后关在一起形成群落。母猴向幼猴的传播很少发生。从9只母猴中分离出了变形链球菌，但断奶时仅在两只幼猴的牙菌斑中分离到，此时主要的链球菌是血链球菌和轻链球菌。在群落形成过程中，另有一只动物被变形链球菌定植，但这只是在它与携带相同细菌的一只幼猴关在一起之后。群落形成完成后的46天里，给猴子喂食淀粉类食物，在此期间，从所有16只动物的粪便以及11只动物第一乳磨牙发育沟处采集的牙菌斑中均分离出c、e或h血清型的变形链球菌。粪便传播似乎是群落中猴子间变形链球菌传播的一个重要因素。然后给猴子喂食促进龋齿发生的高蔗糖食物，导致牙菌斑和粪便中变形链球菌的比例迅速增加。从牙菌斑和粪便中更频繁分离出的是e血清型变形链球菌，其优势部分可能归因于产生了一种在体外对h血清型变形链球菌以及从猴牙菌斑中分离出的其他口腔链球菌有活性的细菌素。引入高蔗糖食物8天后，发育沟处变形链球菌的比例与该沟的龋齿状况以及6个月后的总龋齿评分均显著相关。结果表明，在这个人类龋齿模型中，变形链球菌是龋齿发生的主要细菌因素。
