Streptococcus bovis

It is also associated with spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, a frequent complication occurring in patients affected by cirrhosis. Equivalence with Streptococcus equinus has been contested, with its classification under the Streptococcus bovis/Streptococcus equinus complex (SBSEC). Streptococcus bovis was a species that was discovered in 1919 by Sigurd Orla-Jenson from cow dung and milk. It was studied as a distinct species and became a focus of research due to its link to endocarditis in the 1970's. The species was divided into biotypes based upon biochemical characteristics until the later 1990's, when the biotypes began to gain recognition as independent species. These biotypes were not recognized as individual species until 1984, when DNA-DNA hybridization showed that the biotypes were genetically heterogenous. From this point forward, the original taxonomy of S. bovis as an individual species began to be further investigated, until the late 1990's and early 2000's, when it became a term to describe the group of a new species that had once been called Streptococcus bovis. Streptococcus bovis consisted of biotypes based upon biochemical characteristics.