Abstrakt: |
Oligonucleotide probes complementaryto the hypervariable regions of the 16S rRNA of Porphyromonas gingivalis, and previously shown to specifically identify human P. gingivalisstrains to the species level, were tested for their ability to recognize P. gingivalisfrom nonhuman primates (Macaca fascicularis), either as distinct isolates or in subgingival dental plaque. The 32P‐labeled probes hybridized with all 147 monkey isolates identified as P. gingivalisby morphology and biochemistry, but did not hybridize with any of the 331 isolates representing 17 genera of bacteria unrelated to P. gingivalis, or to the more closely related P. endodontalisand P. asaccharolytica. This corresponds to sensitivities and specificities of 100%. Of 76 M. fascicularisplaque samples, P. gingivaliswas detected by probe and culture in 67. Of 26 human plaque samples taken from separate individuals free of periodontal disease, 23 failed to demonstrate P. gingivalisby probe or culture. The results of the combined 102 monkey and human plaque samples indicate that, when compared to culture as the “gold standard,” the P. gingivalisprobe had a sensitivity of 96%, a specificity of 87%, and an overall agreement with culture of 93%. These results reveal that the oligonucleotide probes used to identify P. gingivalisare specific for this organism, and give results comparable to culture methods for detecting the presence of P. gingivalisin M. fascicularisdental plaque. J Periodontol 1994;65:398–403. |