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Title: Identifying Low pH Active and Lactate-Utilizing Taxa within Oral Microbiome Communities from Healthy Children Using Stable Isotope Probing Techniques

Journal Article · · PLoS One, 7(3):Article No. e32219

Many human microbial infectious diseases including dental caries are polymicrobial in nature and how these complex multi-species communities evolve from a healthy to a diseased state is not well understood. Although many health- or disease-associated oral microbes have been characterized in vitro, their physiology in vivo in the presence of the complex oral microbiome is difficult to determine with current approaches. In addition, about half of these oral species remain uncultivated to date and little is known except their 16S rRNA sequence. Lacking culture-based physiological analyses, the functional roles of uncultivated microorganisms will remain enigmatic despite their apparent disease correlation. To start addressing these knowledge gaps, we applied a novel combination of in vivo Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) with RNA and DNA based Stable Isotope Probing (SIP) to oral plaque communities from healthy children for temporal monitoring of carbohydrate utilization, organic acid production and identification of metabolically active and inactive bacterial species.

Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States). Environmental Molecular Sciences Lab. (EMSL)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
1036913
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-83915; 25694; TRN: US201206%%660
Journal Information:
PLoS One, 7(3):Article No. e32219, Vol. 7, Issue 3
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English