According to an accidental discovery, bacteria and fungi could work together to cause havoc to your teeth.
Zhi Ren, a University of Pennsylvania dental researcher, observed two distinct organisms under the microscope when he examined the microbes responsible for aggressive toddler tooth decay.
Further research was conducted in the lab to see how these bacteria-fungal clusters might interact in saliva to cause tooth-rotting.
The findings reveal several ’emergent functions’ of the clusters, which make the species act almost like an entirely new superorganism – including new abilities to move and spread across our teeth.
The couple pathogens were found doing things they couldn’t do on their own.
The bacteria is usually found in the sedentary. Streptococcus mutans, they were no longer bound to salivary impulses. Hitchhiking along the extended arms of the yeast Candida albicansThe bacteria could now move via ‘leaping’ and continue growing as it spreads.
“This is a ground-breaking discovery and was unanticipated.” SaysKnut Drescher (University of Basel, Switzerland) is a microbiologist.
“No one could have foreseen this.”
It’s not as if bacteria and fungi never worked together. Multicellular biofilmsMany people are infected by these viruses. Our knowledge about how these communities work and develop is limited.
The current study’s authors found that bacterial clusters could attach to the fungal yeasts’ body, branches and exterior sugars.
The cells in this network can more easily attach themselves to teeth as a group than any individual cells. The’superorganisms’ are also more resistant to antimicrobials, and require less brushing.
But, the most bizarre part is how the superorganisms move.
Some bacteria can swim with their little arms, but they don’t have arms like other organisms. S. mutansis often immobile. It is not mobile at all. C. albicansnor S. mutansCan move as such but because C. albicansIt can be extended outward, making it a perfect vehicle to hitchhike.
If bacteria attaches to these fungal filaments they can basically ‘leap’ forward and merge with each other biofilms.
Researchers found that superorganisms moved at speeds of 40 to 40 microns per hour when tested on tooth-like surfaces. This speed is comparable to the speed at which wound-healing molecules move in the human body.
Within hours of the two pathogens bind, the authors witnessed bacteria leaping to substrates 100 millimeters away. This distance is more that 200 times their body length.
The team is certain that no one else has experienced this level of group-level mobility.
“The dynamic fungal–bacterial interactions lead to biofilm superstructures that cause extensive and more severe damage of the tooth-enamel surface,” the authors Send an email.
Researchers think that if bacteria and fungi can be prevented from binding together, it could help prevent cavities.
However, the discovery can also be used for purposes other than dentistry.
The findings could be used to help understand how similar superorganisms can spread infectious diseases and cause environmental pollution so rapidly.
The authors write that “This collective multicellular migration mode opens fascinating possibilities.” Send an email.
“This could be an interkingdom colonizers stochastic mobility mechanism to increase range expansion or a navigation strategy to a desired destination or direction.”
The study was published in PNAS.
