Division of Oral Microbiology and Immunology, RWTH Aachen University Hospital, Aachen, Germany.
J Oral Microbiol. 2011 Feb 23;3. doi: 10.3402/jom.v3i0.5940.
Archaea, organisms that make up the third domain of cellular life are members of the human oral microflora. They are strikingly less diverse than oral bacteria and appear to be relatively rare with respect to their numerical abundance. Since they have been exclusively found in association with oral infections such as periodontitis and apical periodontitis and given their unique physiology and energy metabolism, it is highly plausible that they are more than just secondary colonizers of infected areas, but instead are actively involved in the overall poly-microbial infection process. Conversely, it is a highly challenging task to clearly demonstrate their possible active participation - mostly due to the difficulty to grow them in routine microbiology laboratories. This current review points out the importance for understanding the medical impact of methanogens and aims at devising strategies for elucidating the true function of archaea in the oral ecosystem.
古菌是构成细胞生命第三域的生物体，是人类口腔微生物群的成员。它们的多样性明显低于口腔细菌，而且相对于其数量丰度来说，它们似乎相对较少。由于它们仅在牙周炎和根尖周炎等口腔感染中被发现，并且由于它们具有独特的生理学和能量代谢，因此它们不仅仅是感染区域的次要定植者，而是积极参与整个多微生物感染过程，这是非常合理的。相反，要明确证明它们可能的积极参与是一项极具挑战性的任务-主要是由于在常规微生物学实验室中培养它们的困难。本综述指出了理解产甲烷菌的医学影响的重要性，并旨在制定策略来阐明古菌在口腔生态系统中的真正功能。
