''Rothia mucilaginosa'' is a Gram-positive, coagulase-negative, encapsulated, non-spore-forming and non-motile coccus, present in clusters, tetrads or pairs that is a part of the normal oropharyngeal flora. Belonging to the family ''Micrococcaceae'', it was first isolated from the mucous membrane of the cheek and gingiva. It is an oral commensal, that has been linked to causing severe bacteremia in immunocompromised patients. This bacterium has also been shown to form biofilms, similar to that of ''
Pseudomonas aeruginosa''. ''R. mucilaginosa'' is a cohabitant in the lower airways of patient with bronchiectasis
Morphology
''Rothia mucilaginosa'' is a Gram-positive, coagulase-negative, encapsulated, non-spore-forming and non-motile coccus, present in clusters, tetrads or pairs. ''R. mucilaginosa'' can easily be confused for the bacteria from the genera ''
Micrococcus'' and ''
Staphylococcus
''Staphylococcus'' is a genus of Gram-positive bacteria in the family Staphylococcaceae from the order Bacillales. Under the microscope, they appear spherical (cocci), and form in grape-like clusters. ''Staphylococcus'' species are facultative ...
''. One way that it can be distinguished from those two is by its strong adherence to the solid medium substrate that its colonies form. Another way is by its weak or absent catalase reaction, failure to grow on 5% NaCl media or its glucose and sucrose fermentation.
Pathology
''Rothia mucilaginosa'' has been linked to
Bronchiectasis
Bronchiectasis is a disease in which there is permanent enlargement of parts of the bronchi, airways of the lung. Symptoms typically include a chronic cough with sputum, mucus production. Other symptoms include shortness of breath, hemoptysis, co ...
, showing that an inhibition of the
COX-2 inhibitor is largely related to an increased production of PGE
2, which has been shown to be immunosuppressive in animal models of bacterial pneumonias and sepsis. The inhibition of COX-2 improved survival in mice, suggesting that the pathogenic effects of ''R. mucilaginosa'' are related to the induction of COX-2 It is also closely associated with
Bacteremia
Bloodstream infections (BSIs), which include bacteremias when the infections are bacterial and fungemias when the infections are fungal, are infections present in the blood. Blood is normally a sterile environment, so the detection of microb ...
,
sepsis, and
endocarditis.
Antibiotics
''Rothia mucilaginosa'' is resistant to the quinolone class of antibiotics, with extreme resistance to fluoroquinolones. Sensitivity, as of 2003, is still found in trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, vancomycin and bacitracin.
[Fanourgiakis, P.; Georgala, A.; Vekemans, M.; Daneau, D.; Heymans, C.; Aoun, M. (October 2003). "Bacteremia due to ''Stomatococcus mucilaginosus'' in neutropenic patients in the setting of a cancer institute". Clinical Microbiology and Infection 9 (10): 1068-1072. Retrieved 10 November 2015.]
References
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q26282584, from2=Q22286736
Micrococcaceae