A novel mathematical approach using matrix analysis will be applied to study the effects of the environment of oral bacteria on their macromolecular composition. The proposed study emphasizes determinations of surface composition, intracellular polysaccharide content, intracellular nucleotide pools and quantitation of several excreted macromolecules. From this study should emerge a profile of those environmental conditions that are most advantageous, as well as deleterious to colonization, pathogenicity and immunogenicity of oral streptococci.