Fimbriae/pili from oral bacteria.

AbstractThis chapter focuses on fimbriae and pili and the recent advances made in understanding their role in bacterial adhesion and invasion in the oral cavity. The two primary groups of gram-positive bacteria present in the oral cavity are Streptococcus and Actinomyces. Gram-negative species often comprise the later colonizers of the oral cavity and the noticeable ones are often regarded as periodontal disease-associated pathogens, including Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Porphyromonas gingivalis and Fusobacterium nucleatum. In this chapter, these bacteria are used as models to discuss bacterial surface structures pili and fimbriae, and their contributions to bacterial adhesion and invasion.