Honors Program

University Honors

Date of Award

5-2023

Thesis Professor(s)

Sean Fox

Thesis Professor Department

Health Sciences

Thesis Reader(s)

Jesse Graves, Ranjan Chakraborty

Abstract

Candida albicans is a fungal microbe that is often present inside of humans in the mouth and gastrointestinal tract. It shares a mostly commensal relationship with its hosts but can develop into an opportunistic pathogenic infection under conditions of immune suppression. Oral thrush or candidiasis is an uncomfortable condition resulting from excessive growth of Candida albicans in the oral cavity. Candidiasis is prone to progressing into more threatening symptoms without proper treatment. There are few effective antifungal medicines used for treatment and the problem of antimicrobial resistance is growing. Alcaligenes faecalis is a bacterial microbe that does not pose a significant threat to human health in many cases. It is also present in the human gastrointestinal tract and shares an inhibitory relationship with Candida albicans. Streptococcus mutans is also a bacterial microorganism present in the oral cavity and GI tract of humans. It is one of the primary factors related to dental decay, one of the most common modern health issues humans face. In cases of dental caries, Candida albicans and Streptococcus mutans have been found to have positive correlation in the biofilm coating teeth. This study examines the effects on microbial growth under the presence of all three organisms in a tri-culture. The results of this experiment could help better understand how to inhibit growth of Candida albicans and Streptococcus mutans and promote oral health.

Publisher

East Tennessee State University

Document Type

Honors Thesis - Open Access

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

Copyright

Copyright by the authors.

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