title: [Recent advances in the field of oral bacteriology].
abstract: The oral cavity is inhabited by more than 600 bacterial species; these species compete for nutrients or coexist in order to survive along with the indigenous population. Extreme conditions are prevalent in the oral cavity, and these conditions are influenced by our immunity and variations in nutrition, temperature, and pH. Pathogens that cause dental caries or periodontal disease can survive in these extreme environments; these pathogens are virulent and can cause several diseases. Therefore, research on oral bacteriology is warranted to analyze the virulence factors of these bacteria as well as to ascertain environmental stress responses, interactions between bacteria and human immunity, comparisons of bacterial genomes, and oral microflora. In this review, we provide new data in the fields of bacteriology, immunology, and genomics and describe recent advances in the field of oral bacteriology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Oral Infection, Unit of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University.
authors.forename: Mikio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shoji
authors.forename: Toru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takeshita
authors.forename: Fumito
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Maruyama
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Inaba
authors.forename: Kenichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Imai
authors.forename: Miki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kawada-Matsuo
mesh_terms: D001432:Bacteriology / Q000639:trends*; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000382:microbiology; D016680:Genome, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D064307:Microbiota; D009055:Mouth / Q000382:microbiology*; D010518:Periodontitis / Q000382:microbiology; D016966:Porphyromonas gingivalis / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity; D013295:Streptococcus mutans / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity