MINI REVIEW article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Infectious Agents and Disease
The Evolving Story of Streptococcus gallolyticus: Classification, Pathogenesis, Role in Human and Animal Disease, and Laboratory Diagnostics
Provisionally accepted
- 1North Carolina State University, Raleigh, United States
- 2Iowa State University of Science and Technology, Ames, United States
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Streptococcus gallolyticus, formerly known as S. bovis, belongs to the Streptococcus bovis/Streptococcus equinus complex (SBSEC). Besides being a part of the gut microbiome, this organism has gained interest due to its association with infective endocarditis and its strong correlation with colorectal cancer in humans. In veterinary medicine, systemic infection caused by S. gallolyticus has been reported in various animal populations, including porcine, ruminant, and avian species. Despite its clinical importance in humans and animals, two key challenges persist: the limited understanding of the pathogenesis due to its ubiquitous nature and inconsistencies in diagnostic laboratory reporting of the bacteria in SBSEC. This review summarizes the taxonomic characterization of the SBSEC, its clinical manifestations across species, current understanding of the bacterial pathogenesis, and the laboratory diagnostic assays used for its detection. We will further discuss the importance of SBSEC speciation and subspeciation, highlighting their distinct clinical implications and potential impact on human and animal health.
Keywords: bacterial pathogenesis6, colorectal cancer3, Gut microbiota5, infective endocarditis4, Streptococcus bovis/Streptococcus equinus complex2, Streptococcus gallolyticus1
Received: 11 Dec 2025; Accepted: 14 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Bamrung and Sitthicharoenchai. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Panchan Sitthicharoenchai
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