Influence of Sugar Type on the Pattern of Acid Production by Streptococcus mutans

Acid was produced rapidly during incuba-tion of Streptococcus mutans with mono-saccharides glucose and fructose, and was delayed by one hour in the presence of sucrose. A significant degree of potentiation occurred when both glucose and fructose were present in the incubation medium. This could be because of a substrate-controlled transport mechanism in the cell membrane. Plaque microorganisms not only metabolize dietary sugars to form organic acids capable of attacking enamel, but they also are responsible for polysaccharide synthesis. Extracellular polysaccharide synthesis de-pends on availability of sucrose', but the carbohydrate requirements for acid produc-tion by plaque microorganisms have not been defined yet. The following experiment is an investigation of lactate production in vitro by Streptococcus mutans in the pres-ence of glucose, fructose, and sucrose. Materials and Method