RT Journal Article SR Electronic(1) A1 Ono, T. A1 Hirota, K. A1 Nemoto, K. A1 Fernandez, E. J. A1 Ota, F. A1 Fukui, K.YR 1994 T1 Detection of Streptococcus mutans by PCR amplification of spaP gene JF Journal of Medical Microbiology, VO 41 IS 4 SP 231 OP 235 DO https://doi.org/10.1099/00222615-41-4-231 PB Microbiology Society, SN 1473-5644, AB Summary Synthetic oligonucleotide primers were used in the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to amplify a sequence of the spaP gene, which encodes the surface protein antigen I/II of Streptococcus mutans. A DNA fragment of c. 192 bp was amplified from lysed S. mutans cells or isolated DNA. With S. mutans cells, the lower limit of detection was 4–40 cfu. With these primers, 13 reference and 50 clinical strains of S. mutans were identified. Amplification of the 192-bp product was not demonstrated when 41 strains of other streptococcal and non-streptococcal species were tested. The spaP gene PCR has potential for the rapid diagnosis of S. mutans infections., UL https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/jmm/10.1099/00222615-41-4-231