Streptococcus mutans
What's this?
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Its ID gene: the stretch scientists read to tell microbes apart. Each bar is one letter of its DNA. Every species has its own order of letters, so the pattern works like a fingerprint. Close relatives share most of it.
16S rRNA gene, V4 region: the 252 letters between the standard primers (515F/806R), which are the same in every species. One reference sequence; strains can differ by a letter or two. NCBI NR_042772.1
Small for a gut microbe: longer than 12% of the 2,354 we have genomes for.
37% G+C, higher than 16% of gut microbes.
To scale: if its ID gene were 1 cm long, its genome would stretch 13 meters. Yours would stretch 21 kilometers. One reference genome; strains vary. NCBI GCF_019048645.1
What it can do
- Can make lactic acid What yogurt bacteria make; other microbes turn it into butyrate.
- Can ferment fiber Breaks down dietary fiber that our own enzymes can't.
- Can eat inulin A fiber in onions, garlic, leeks, chicory and bananas (also sold as FOS).
- Can use lactose The sugar in milk and dairy.
- Mixed evidence Can feed on gut mucus Lives on mucin, the mucus that lines the gut. Published research reports it; genome analysis found it in none of 104 genomes.
Not seen in its genomes: make butyrate, make propionate, eat resistant starch, eat pectin, change bile acids, make B vitamins, make hydrogen sulfide, make methane.
All 13 capabilities and their evidence
| Capability | Verdict | Genome analysis | Lab tests | Published research |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Can make butyrate | Not seen | 0 of 104 genomes | — | No papers |
| Can make propionate | Not seen | 0 of 104 genomes | — | No papers |
| Can make lactic acid | Can | 104 of 104 genomes | — | Papers say yes |
| Can ferment fiber | Can | 104 of 104 genomes | 37 of 38 strains · strip test | No papers |
| Can eat inulin | Can | 104 of 104 genomes | 10 of 11 strains · strip test | No papers |
| Can eat resistant starch | Not seen | 0 of 104 genomes | — | No papers |
| Can eat pectin | Not seen | 0 of 104 genomes | — | No papers |
| Can use lactose | Can | 104 of 104 genomes | 32 of 37 strains | No papers |
| Can feed on gut mucus | Mixed evidence | 0 of 104 genomes | — | Papers say yes |
| Can change bile acids | Not seen | 0 of 104 genomes | — | No papers |
| Can make B vitamins | Not seen | 0 of 104 genomes | — | No papers |
| Can make hydrogen sulfide | Not seen | 0 of 104 genomes | — | No papers |
| Can make methane | Not seen | 0 of 104 genomes | — | No papers |
AGORA2 (Heinken et al. 2023) via VMH, CC BY 4.0 · BacDive (DSMZ), CC BY 4.0 · NJC19 (Lim et al., Scientific Data 2020), CC0
In healthy guts
Found in 5.4% of healthy people.
- largest Segatella copri 6.2%
- 2nd largest Phocaeicola vulgatus 5.0%
- 3rd largest Faecalibacterium prausnitzii 4.7%
- 4th largest Bacteroides uniformis 3.2%
- 5th largest Agathobacter rectalis 2.5%
- 6th largest Alistipes putredinis 2.3%
- 7th largest Bifidobacterium longum 2.1%
- 8th largest Ruminococcus bromii 1.8%
- Streptococcus mutans under 0.01%
- 2,169 other microbes, each a sliver 56.7%
- 15.6%
On average, a sliver, under 0.01% of the microbes in a healthy gut.
Every group, drawn the same way. Only some samples record age or sex, so each group says how many people it comes from. Tap one to see it above.
In conditions
Compared with healthy people in the same studies, it’s less common in none and more common in 3 conditions. Only studies that had both are counted.
A difference is an association: it doesn’t mean this microbe causes, prevents or treats any of these.
Strongest first, then the biggest gap · Each figure is 10 people