''Rothia'' is a

Gram-positive In bacteriology, gram-positive bacteria are bacteria that give a positive result in the Gram stain test, which is traditionally used to quickly classify bacteria into two broad categories according to their type of cell wall. Gram-positive bact ...

aerobic Aerobic means "requiring air," in which "air" usually means oxygen. Aerobic may also refer to * Aerobic exercise, prolonged exercise of moderate intensity * Aerobics, a form of aerobic exercise * Aerobic respiration, the aerobic process of cel ...

rod-shaped A bacillus (), also called a bacilliform bacterium or often just a rod (when the context makes the sense clear), is a rod-shaped bacterium or archaeon. Bacilli are found in many different taxonomic groups of bacteria. However, the name '' Baci ...

and

non-motile Sessility is the biological property of an organism describing its lack of a means of self-locomotion. Sessile organisms for which natural ''motility'' is absent are normally immobile. This is distinct from the botanical concept of sessility, ...

bacterial genus from the family

Micrococcaceae The family ''Micrococcaceae'' includes bacterial genera of Gram positive cocci that inhabit the air and skin, such as '' Micrococcus luteus''. Genera The family ''Micrococcaceae'' comprises the following genera: * '' Acaricomes'' Pukall ''et a ...

. ''Rothia'' bacteria can cause disease in humans and immunosuppressed humans. ''Rothia'' is prevalent in our saliva and it produces

enterobactin Enterobactin (also known as enterochelin) is a high affinity siderophore that acquires iron for microbial systems. It is primarily found in Gram-negative bacteria, such as ''Escherichia coli'' and '' Salmonella typhimurium''. Enterobactin is t ...

. This is a strong iron-binding

siderophore Siderophores (Greek: "iron carrier") are small, high-affinity iron- chelating compounds that are secreted by microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi. They help the organism accumulate iron. Although a widening range of siderophore functions is n ...

, which is produced by ''E. coli''. ''Rothia'' is also prevalent in our gut and causes the emergence of gastric atrophy and

intestinal metaplasia Intestinal metaplasia is the transformation (metaplasia) of epithelium (usually of the stomach or the esophagus) into a type of epithelium resembling that found in the intestine. In the esophagus, this is called Barrett's esophagus. Chronic inflam ...

References

Further reading