Streptococcus thermophilus

John Bartow
Streptococcus thermophilus ATCC# 19258, as the name implies, looks like a chain of
spheres. It is a gram-positive microbe and it is a facultative anaerobe. It does not
form spores and does not move on its own. As the species name gives away, the
microbe likes warmer temperatures. Its optimal growth rate occurs at the bottom of
the thermophile spectrum, around 45C.

The most interesting part about this microbe is that S. thermophilus is a lactic acid
bacterium. This means that it breaks down the pyruvate into lactic acid and
acetaldehyde. It is considered a homofermentative, which means that as the
bacterium breaks down pyruvate most of the products formed will be lactate. Another
important property of S. thermophilus is that it is a probiotic bacterium. The
bacterium is healthy for the host organism that consumes it and combines this
microbe with the rest of its internal flora. These two features are important for the
many uses of S. thermophilus.

The first important feature mentioned was that S. thermophilus is a lactic acid
bacterium. Lactic acid bacteria are known for their involvement in the fermentation of
food products. S. thermophilus is one of those microbes. It is one of the most
commercially important microbes and was originally isolated for the production of
yogurt in 1974. Since then it has been used as a starter culture for many dairy foods
including yogurt and Mozzarella cheese. According to the USDA in 1998 around
2.24 billion pounds of mozzarella cheese and around 1.37 pounds of yogurt were
produced. This microbe is the driving force behind a 5 billion dollar industry. This
staggering number is one reason S. thermophilus is so interesting.
This microbe is also useful in the production and isolation of enzymes. Because S.
thermophilus genome is shorter than most, 1.8Mb, the microbe has been the topic of

several research studies to improve the organism. One such study involved the
production of beta-galactosidase from the microbe. Beta-galactosidase hydrolyzes
lactose and breaks it down into galactose and glucose. Beta-galactosidase is one of
the most studied enzymes and is used as a marker for senescence assays as well
as for tests in metabolism and enzyme kinetics.
The final feature mentioned was that S. thermophilus is a probiotic. Probiotics are
commonly consumed as part of fermented foods. Sometimes specially added active
live cultures are included such as in yogurt. S. thermophilus has been known to help
out the internal floral of a human being. As consuming the microbe has helped to
alleviate symptoms of lactose intolerance and other gastrointestinal problems. Due
to this unique feature of the microbe, it has been added to several health
supplements along with other probiotic bacterium. Two of these supplements include
Probiotic Colon and iFlora Multi-Probiotic. I believe a third supplement is REFLORA
by VXA. The company VXA never comes right out and says the microbe is found
in their product. However, they spent a good deal of time describing the microbe and
its benefits.
As you can see S. thermophilus is an important part of our world. Not only is it a
major player in the industrial process of dairy food production, but it is also a healthy
and helpful addition to the digestive system of humans.
References
KiliC, Ali, Silvia I. Pavlova, Wen-Ge Ma, and Lin Tao. "Analysis of Lactobacillus
Phages and Bacteriocins in American Dairy Products and Characterization of a
Phage Isolated from Yogurt." Applied and Environmental Microbiology 62.6 (1996):
2111-116. American Society for Microbiology (ASM). American Society for
Microbiology (ASM). Web. 14 Feb. 2010.
<http://aem.asm.org/cgi/reprint/62/6/2111.pdf>.
KMG. "Streptococcus thermophilus." MicrobeWiki. 28 July 2007. Web. 15 Feb. 2010.
<http://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php/Streptococcus_thermophilus>.
Kunkel, Dennis. "Streptococcus thermophilus - Gram-positive, coccoid prokaryote
(bacterium)." Dennis Kunkel Microscopy - Electron Microscopy Science Stock
Photography. 2007. Web. 15 Feb. 2010.
<http://www.denniskunkel.com/DK/Bacteria/26702D.html>.
Rao, M. V., and S. M. Dutta. "Production of beta-galactosidase from Streptococcus
thermophilus grown in whey." Applied Environmental Microbiology 34.2 (1977): 18588. PubMed Central. American Society for Microbiology (ASM). Web. 14 Feb. 2010.
<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC242619/>.
"Streptococcus thermophilus -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 15 Feb.
2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streptococcus_thermophilus>.
"Streptococcus thermophilus, Streptococcus faecium information." VAXA Offers
Homeopathic Medicine, Herbal Products, Vitamins and Supplements. Web. 15 Feb.
2010. <http://www.vaxa.com/streptococcus.cfm>.

U.S Department of Energy. "Streptococcus thermophilus LMD-9 - Home." JGI

Genome Portal - Home. 2009. Web. 14 Feb. 2010. <http://genome.jgipsf.org/strth/strth.home.html>.
"Electron microscopy of foods and microorganisms." Electron Microscopy of Foods
and Microorganisms. 03 Oct. 2008. Web. 15 Feb. 2010.
<http://www.magma.ca/~pavel/science/Foods&bact.htm>.