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Review
. 2010 Feb;52(1):38-52.
doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0757.2009.00311.x.

Subgingival biofilm formation

Review

Subgingival biofilm formation

Masae Kuboniwa et al. Periodontol 2000. 2010 Feb.
No abstract available

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Confocal microscopy of hete-rotypic Porphyromonas gingivalis–Streptococcus gordonii communities. S. gordonii stained with hexidium iodide (red) was cultured on glass plates. P. gingivalis stained with fluorescein (green) was reacted with the S. gordonii biofilms for 24 h. The colocalized bacteria appear yellow in the merged image. The upper panel shows x–y projection and the lower panel shows x–z projection.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Schematic (not to scale) representation of differing community-relevant events that occur following the binding of Porphyromonas gingivalis to Streptococcus gordonii or to Streptococcus cristatus. (A) S. gordonii cells attach to the saliva-coated tooth surface. S. gordonii produces multiple adhesins, many of which have cognate salivary receptors; for simplicity only SspA / B is shown. Initial localization of P. gingivalis with S. gordonii is mediated by the interaction of FimA with glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase on the streptococcal surface. Higher-affinity binding occurs after engagement of Mfa with SspA / B. This interaction initiates a signal transduction event that modulates the P. gingivalis transcriptome. The resulting phenotypic adaptation of P. gingivalis, along with the production of signaling molecules, allows the recruitment of additional P. gingivalis cells from the planktonic phase and the initiation of community development. (B) S. cristatus is a later colonizer of tooth surfaces and attaches to other organisms. Contact with arginine deiminase on the surface of S. cristatus induces the down-regulation of fimA in P. gingivalis and the long fimbriae are lost. Consequently, community formation does not occur between P. gingivalis and S. cristatus.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Potential contribution of Streptococcus gordonii to the conversion of Porphyromonas gingivalis to a more virulent phenotype within a community. The chorismate-binding enzyme (Cbe) of S. gordonii can produce 4-aminobenzoate (pABA) from chorismate. pABA, which is acquired by P. gingivalis, can be converted into 5,6,7,8-tetrahydrofolate (THF). THF can be used to produce 5-formimino–THF, which is used in the degradation of histidine that is associated with increased virulence of P. gingivalis. Gene numbers are shown for S. gordonii (SGO) and P. gingivalis W83 (PG) or 33277 (PGN). Genes transcriptionally upregulated in P. gingivalis in the context of a heterotypic community with S. gordonii are indicated with red arrows.

References

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