Growth, incidence and activities of dissimilatory sulfate-reducing bacteria in the human oral cavity

Caroline L. Willis, Glenn R. Gibson, Clive Allison, Sandra Macfarlane, Jon S. Holt*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

27 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Viable counts and activities of sulfate-reducing bacteria were determined in the oral cavities of 12 healthy volunteers. Of these, 10 harboured viable sulfate-reducing bacteria populations. Six separate sites were sampled: the posterior tongue, anterior tongue, mid buccal mucosa, vestibular mucosa, supragingival plaque and subgingival plaque. Sulfate-reducing bacteria occurred in all areas, with the highest incidence in supragingival plaque. Viable counts and sulfate-reducing activities in each of the regions varied from 0 to 108 cfu (g wet weight)-1 and from 0 to 50 nmol (g wet weight) -1 h-1, respectively. As sulfate-reducing bacteria can be detected in the oral cavity, they may potentially be involved in terminal oxidative processes carried out by the microflora of the mouth.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)267-271
Number of pages5
JournalFEMS Microbiology Letters
Volume129
Issue number2-3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Jun 1995
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Oral cavity
  • Plaque biofilms
  • Sulfate reduction

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