Effect of xylitol and other carbon sources on the cell wall of Streptococcus mutans

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Abstract
Transferring actively growing S. mutans ATCC 27,351 into a xylitol-containing reaction mixture caused distinct alterations in bacterial ultrastructure without notable effect on the total viability of the strain. Incubations in media containing 50 mg/ml of glucose, fructose, sucrose, lactose, sorbitol or mannitol as the primary carbon source did not affect bacterial ultrastructure. These fermentations were reflected biochemically in the amounts of insoluble glucans, as expected. A negative correlation was found between the cell mass and lipoteichoic acid formation. But these aspects could not be visualized by EM. In the xylitol series, degrading cells and autolysis, intracellular vacuoles and lamellated formations in the cytoplasmic membrane were frequently seen independent of the concentration of xylitol in the reaction mixtures. In freeze-fracturing replicas, the membrnae intercalated particles of the cytoplasmic membranes seemed to be unaffected like those in the controls. Minor ultrastructural changes in the fracture-faces were detected. Despite the alterations in ultrastructure of the xylitol-incubated bacteria, there was no difference in their viability when compared to the controls.