''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 bac ...

, aerobic,

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 '' Bacil ...

and non-motile bacterial genus from the family Micrococcaceae. ''Rothia'' bacteria can cause disease in humans and

immunosuppressed Immunosuppression is a reduction of the activation or efficacy of the immune system. Some portions of the immune system itself have immunosuppressive effects on other parts of the immune system, and immunosuppression may occur as an adverse react ...

humans. ''Rothia'' is prevalent in our saliva and it produces enterobactin. 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.

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Further reading