Molecular taxonomy of polymicrobial diseases ? finding novel bacteria not previously considered to be associated with oral diseases

Abstract

Recombinant DNA technology and molecular biology have brought a revolution to the limitations imposed by traditional taxonomic methods of bacterial identification based solely on cultivation. Following on from the novel research of Carl Woese, molecular taxonomy is generally based on variations in the sequence of the 16S rRNA gene and has brought a new perspective to our understanding of the diversity of uncultured bacteria in a multitude of microbial habitats. Analysis of the polymicrobial oral diseases is no exception.