Community Organization of Early Pellicle Colonizers

Objectives: It is well established that biofilm formed on tooth surfaces is the major culprit for caries and periodontal disease development. The critical early event of biofilm formation is the specific interaction of microorganisms with the acquired enamel pellicle. The structural organization of these communities at the micrometer level is poorly understood because of limitations in labeling and imaging technology. The aim of this study was to characterize the community organization and diversity of the early dental biofilm.
Methods: Samples of early in vivo dental biofilm were collected from different teeth of a healthy subject after removal of plaque and pellicle from tooth surfaces.The Combinatorial Labeling and Spectral Imaging FISH (CLASI-FISH) strategy using genus- and family-specific probes was applied to visualize simultaneously, differentiate and characterize the spatial relationships of 6 different phylotypes in the early in vivo biofilm. Proximity analysis is being conducted to determine the frequency of inter- and intrataxon cell-to-cell association.
Results: We demonstrated that 6 taxa in the early biofilm community, Streptococcus, Gemella haemolysans, Haemophilus parainfluenzae, Rothia Denthocariosa, Neisseria, and Veilonella atypica/parvula, could be imaged simultaneously. Proximity analysis is being perform to identify significant intertaxon pairings.
Conclusions: These results provide an initial systems-level structural analysis of early biofilm organization. These findings will be helpful in designing target-specific approaches for the prevention of and/or intervention in diseases exhibiting an oral-biofilm-based etiology.