Streptococcus thermophilus

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Streptococcus thermophilus

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Bacteria
Phylum: Firmicutes
Class:
Bacilli
Order:
Lactobacillales
Family:
Streptococcaceae
Genus:
Streptococcus
Species: S. thermophilus
Binomial name
Streptococcus thermophilus
(ex Orla-Jensen 1919)
Schleifer et al. 1995

Synonyms
Streptococcus salivarius
subsp. thermophilus (OrlaJensen, 1919) Farrow et
Collins 1984
Streptococcus thermophilus Streptococcus thermophilus (previous name Streptococcus
salivarius subsp. thermophilus)[1] [2] is a Gram-positive bacteria and a homofermentative
facultative anaerobe, of the viridans group.[3] It tests negative for cytochrome, oxidase and
catalase, and positive for alpha-hemolytic activity.[3] It is non-motile and does not form
endospores.[3]
It is also classified as a lactic acid bacterium.[4] S. thermophilus is found in fermented milk
products. and is generally used in the production of yogurt,[5] alongside Lactobacillus
delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus. The two species are synergistic, and S. thermophilus probably
provides L.d. bulgaricus with folic acid and formic acid which it uses for purine synthesis.[6]

Contents

1 Uses
o 1.1 Yogurt production

2 Nomenclature

3 Research
o 3.1 Pathogenic potential
o 3.2 Reduced-fat cheese
o 3.3 Cancer
o 3.4 Growth rate in children
o 3.5 Antibiotic-associated diarrhea

4 References

Uses
S. thermophilus is one of the most widely used bacteria in the dairy industry. USDA statistics
from 1998 showed that more than 1.02 billion kilograms of mozzarella cheese and 621
million kilograms of yogurt were produced from S. thermophilus.[7] Although its genus,
Streptococcus, includes some pathogenic species, food industries consider S. thermophilus a
safer bacterium than many other Streptococcus species. In fact, yogurt and cheese that
contain live cultures of S. thermophilus are thought to be beneficial to health.[8] Live cultures
of S. thermophilus make it easier for people who are lactose intolerant to digest dairy
products. The bacteria break down lactose, the sugar in milk that lactose-intolerants find
difficult to digest.

Yogurt production
As early as the 1900s, S. thermophilus has been used to make yogurt. Its purpose is to turn
lactose, the sugar in milk, into lactic acid. The increase in lactic acid turns milk into the gellike structure characteristic of yogurt.[9]

Nomenclature
"Streptococcus" derives from a Greek term meaning "twisted berry" and refers to the way the
bacterium is grouped in chains that resemble a string of beads.[10] "Thermophilus" derives
from the Greek term thermotita meaning "heat". It refers to an organism's ability to thrive at
high temperatures.[11]

Research

Pathogenic potential
The genus Streptococcus includes several pathogenic species, such as S. pneumoniae and S.
pyogenes, but food industries consider S. thermophilus non-pathogenic. S. thermophilus is
believed to have developed separately from pathogenic Streptococcus species for at least
3000 years. Research teams have sequenced the genome of two strains of S. thermophilus,
CNRZ1066 and LMG13811, and stated that the bacteria are not dangerous.[12]
When the S. thermophilus species diverged from its pathogenic relatives, it lost most of the
genes acknowledged as being responsible for virulence. The species may have lost these
genes because it adapted to a new, dairy-producing, environment in which it did not need
these genes anymore.
Genome analysis has also shown that by adapting to dairy production, the species has
acquired genes that its pathogenic cousins do not have. For example, S. thermophilus can use
the energy in lactose to help itself grow.

Reduced-fat cheese
S. thermophilus helps make reduced-fat cheese with similar characteristics to regular, full-fat
cheese. In the experiment, two different strains of bacteria are used to make reduced-fat
cheddar cheese: a strain of Lactococcus lactis and a strain of S. thermophilus. These bacteria
are chosen because they produce exopolysaccharide (EPS) which give reduced-fat cheese a
similar texture and flavor as regular cheese. However, cheese made from L. lactis yielded a
different type of cheese from S. thermophilus.
L. lactis produced cheese with higher moisture levels compared to other reduced-fat cheeses.
On the other hand, S. thermophilus produced low moisture cheese and decreased the
bitterness of cheese. It had been concluded that applying both L. lactis and S. thermophilus
strains create higher quality reduced-fat cheese with similar characteristics to regular cheese.
[13]

Cancer
Chemotherapy often causes mucositis, severe inflammation of primarily the small intestines.
Currently, there is no treatment to alleviate the symptoms of mucositis caused by
chemotherapy. When rats were inflicted with mucositis by chemotherapy drugs, cells in the
infected areas functioned more healthily and the tissue was less distressed.[14] In her nutrition
book, Jean Carper describes an experiment by Dr. Joseph A. Scimeca, in which
commercially-available yogurt containing S. thermophilus and L.d. bulgaricus was fed to
mice. After these mice were injected with cancer cells, the incidence of lung cancer in the
yogurt-fed mice was one-third less than expected.[15]

Growth rate in children

S. thermophilus supplements have maintained a stable growth rate in children. Children who
received S. thermophilus supplements had better growth during a 6-month period than
children who did not receive the supplement.[16]

Antibiotic-associated diarrhea
Strains of S. thermophilus have also reduced risks of AAD (antibiotic-associated diarrhea), an
issue that results from taking antibiotics. Antibiotics can have the adverse effect of destroying
beneficial bacteria and causing harmful bacteria to multiply, which invokes diarrhea. Adults
who ate yogurt containing S. thermophilus while being treated with antibiotics had lower
rates of diarrhea than the control group (12.4% vs. 23.7%).[17]