title: Porphyromonas gingivalis sinks teeth into the oral microbiota and periodontal disease.
abstract: Periodontitis is linked to polymicrobial interactions and the presence of Porphyromonas gingivalis. In this issue of Cell Host & Microbe, Hajishengallis et al. (2011) demonstrate that P. gingivalis colonization in the oral cavity changes the composition of the oral commensal microbiota and accelerates microbiota-mediated bone-destructive periodontitis, indicating that this single, low-abundance species is a keystone in periodontal disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Japan. kenya@m.u-tokyo.ac.jp
authors.forename: Kenya
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Honda