Ecological events in subgingival dental plaque with reference to Bacteroides and Fusobacterium species.

The oral cavity provides a varied habitat supporting the growth of very complex bacterial flora. These bacteria can be broadly divided into two main metabolic groups: saccharolytic bacteria which convert carbohydrates into short chain organic acids and asaccharolytic bacteria which utilize nitrogenous substrates for energy. We studied carbohydrate utilization, the influence of protein hydrolysates on bacterial growth and the fermentation of amino acids in different species to facilitate a clearer understanding of the factors which may control the ecological distribution of bacteria in vivo and provide a basis for the explanation of their role in periodontal diseases and other clinical infections throughout the body.