This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Chalmers, N. I.
Right arrow Articles by Kolenbrander, P. E.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Chalmers, N. I.
Right arrow Articles by Kolenbrander, P. E.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Chalmers, N. I.
Right arrow Articles by Kolenbrander, P. E.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, January 2007, p. 630-636, Vol. 73, No. 2
0099-2240/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02164-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Use of Quantum Dot Luminescent Probes To Achieve Single-Cell Resolution of Human Oral Bacteria in Biofilms{triangledown}

Natalia I. Chalmers,1,2 Robert J. Palmer Jr.,2 Laurence Du-Thumm,3 Richard Sullivan,3 Wenyuan Shi,4,5 and Paul E. Kolenbrander2*

Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Maryland Dental School, Baltimore, Maryland 21201,1 National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health, Building 30, Room 310, Bethesda, Maryland 20892,2 Colgate-Palmolive Company, Piscataway, New Jersey 08855,3 Department of Oral Biology and Medicine, UCLA School of Dentistry, Los Angeles, California 90095,4 UCLA Molecular Biology Institute, Los Angeles, California 900255

Received 14 September 2006/ Accepted 6 November 2006

Oral biofilms are multispecies communities, and in their nascent stages of development, numerous bacterial species engage in interspecies interactions. Better insight into the spatial relationship between different species and how species diversity increases over time can guide our understanding of the role of interspecies interactions in the development of the biofilms. Quantum dots (QD) are semiconductor nanocrystals and have emerged as a promising tool for labeling and detection of bacteria. We sought to apply QD-based primary immunofluorescence for labeling of bacterial cells with in vitro and in vivo biofilms and to compare this approach with the fluorophore-based primary immunofluorescence approach we have used previously. To investigate QD-based primary immunofluorescence as the means to detect distinct targets with single-cell resolution, we conjugated polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies to the QD surface. We also conducted simultaneous QD conjugate-based and fluorophore conjugate-based immunofluorescence and showed that these conjugates were complementary tools in immunofluorescence applications. Planktonic and biofilm cells were labeled effectively by considering two factors: the final nanomolar concentration of QD conjugate and the amount of antibody conjugated to the QD, which we define as the degree of labeling. These advances in the application of QD-based immunofluorescence for the study of biofilms in vitro and in vivo will help to define bacterial community architecture and to facilitate investigations of interactions between bacterial species in these communities.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: National Institutes of Health/NIDCR, Building 30, Room 310, 30 Convent Drive, MSC 4350, Bethesda, MD 20892-4350. Phone: (301) 496-1497. Fax: (301) 402-0396. E-mail: pkolenbrander{at}dir.nidcr.nih.gov.

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 17 November 2006.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, January 2007, p. 630-636, Vol. 73, No. 2
0099-2240/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02164-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Wang, Q., Chen, B., Liu, P., Zheng, M., Wang, Y., Cui, S., Sun, D., Fang, X., Liu, C.-M., Lucas, W. J., Lin, J. (2009). Calmodulin Binds to Extracellular Sites on the Plasma Membrane of Plant Cells and Elicits a Rise in Intracellular Calcium Concentration. J. Biol. Chem. 284: 12000-12007 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Chalmers, N. I., Palmer, R. J. Jr., Cisar, J. O., Kolenbrander, P. E. (2008). Characterization of a Streptococcus sp.-Veillonella sp. Community Micromanipulated from Dental Plaque. J. Bacteriol. 190: 8145-8154 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Davey, M. E. (2008). Tracking Dynamic Interactions during Plaque Formation. J. Bacteriol. 190: 7869-7870 [Full Text]  
  • Ollivier, P. R. L., Bahrou, A. S., Marcus, S., Cox, T., Church, T. M., Hanson, T. E. (2008). Volatilization and Precipitation of Tellurium by Aerobic, Tellurite-Resistant Marine Microbes. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 74: 7163-7173 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Brady, R. A., Leid, J. G., Kofonow, J., Costerton, J. W., Shirtliff, M. E. (2007). Immunoglobulins to Surface-Associated Biofilm Immunogens Provide a Novel Means of Visualization of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Biofilms. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 73: 6612-6619 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»