Oral Biofilm Architecture at the Microbial Scale

Abstract

The application of Spectral Imaging FISH to oral biofilm samples has permitted the direct, simultaneous observation of up to nine different bacterial taxa. This has revealed a complex yet organized microbial architecture, identifying the key microorganisms in the community and detecting the existing interspecies physical interactions at the micron scale.

Keywords: CLASI-FISH; biofilm; human microbiome; microbial interactions.