ABSTRACTOral bacteria are the first human microbiome to encounter the food we eat. To date, most research has focused on the role of oral bacteria in the development and progression of caries and periodontal disease; however, little is known about the microbial communities that maintain a healthy oral cavity. This book, Oral Microbial Communities: Genomic Inquiry and Interspecies Communication, helps readers understand how multispecies microbial communities function to maintain and promote oral health as well as disease. It explores the immense opportunities presented by readily accessible, genetically tractable, genome-sequenced oral species that naturally form multispecies communities. Emphasizing the use of genomic inquiry to probe questions, Oral Microbial Communities examines multispecies community interactions, spatiotemporal organization, and gene function. Readers will find coverage of all the major microbe species currently under investigation by leading oral microbiologists. In particular, the book highlights model systems that study oral bacterial interactions, including biofilm growth using saliva as the source of nutrition.
