Journal of Dental Research, Vol 70, 1048-1051, Copyright © 1991 by International & American Associations for Dental Research Online Journals
Identification by biotinylated DNA probes of Capnocytophaga species isolated from supragingival calculus
M. Morita, T. Yamamoto and T. Watanabe
Department of Preventive Dentistry, Okayama University Dental School, Japan.
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.
