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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, November 2002, p. 5779-5783, Vol. 68, No. 11
0099-2240/02/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/AEM.68.11.5779-5783.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Dental Research Group, Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, Wellington School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand
Received 12 April 2002/ Accepted 14 August 2002
Biolog technology was applied to measure the metabolic similarity of plaque biofilm microcosms, which model the complex properties of dental plaque in vivo. The choice of Biolog plate, incubation time, and incubation conditions strongly influenced utilization profiles. For plaque biofilm microcosms, Biolog GP2 plates incubated anaerobically in an H2-free atmosphere gave the clearest profile. To test the application of the Biolog GP2 assay, plaque microcosms were developed under different nutrient conditions in which the frequency of sucrose application was varied. Cluster analysis of Biolog GP2 data from 10 microcosm biofilms correlated with sucrose frequency. Aciduric bacteria (Streptococcus mutans plus lactobacilli) predominated in the plaques receiving high-frequency sucrose applications. Agreement between the Biolog GP2 groupings with nutrient and compositional changes suggests that Biolog analysis is a valuable technique for analyzing the metabolic similarity of dental plaque biofilm microcosms and other high-nutrient or predominantly anaerobic ecosystems.
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