Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 17, 2026

In Situ Detection of Bacteria within Paraffin-embedded Tissues Using a Digoxin-labeled DNA Probe Targeting 16S rRNA
Published on: May 21, 2015
Two subgingival plaque-sampling strategies used with RNA probes
Diana-Maria Krigar1, Jens Kaltschmitt, Jörg K Krieger
1Section of Periodontology, Department of Conservative Dentistry, Clinic for Oral, Dental, and Maxillofacial Diseases, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Pooling subgingival plaque samples may increase pathogen detection, particularly for Treponema denticola (Td). This method enhances bacterial counts compared to separate sampling, improving the probability of identifying existing periodontal pathogens.
Area of Science:
- Periodontology
- Microbiology
- Diagnostic techniques
Background:
- Periodontitis is a complex oral disease influenced by specific bacterial pathogens.
- Accurate microbiological analysis is crucial for effective periodontal therapy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the efficacy of two subgingival plaque sampling strategies for microbiological RNA-probe analysis.
- To evaluate the impact of sample pooling on pathogen detection in periodontitis patients.
Main Methods:
- Subgingival plaque samples were collected from 220 periodontitis patients using two methods: separate site sampling and pooled multiple-site testing (MT3).
- RNA-probe analysis was performed on samples to detect Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Tannerella forsythensis, Porphyromonas gingivalis, and Treponema denticola (Td).
Main Results:
- Pooled samples showed higher log-transformed bacterial counts for all tested pathogens compared to separate samples (P < 0.01).
- Statistically significant differences in detection frequency between separate and pooled samples were observed only for Treponema denticola (Td).
Conclusions:
- Pooling subgingival plaque samples can increase bacterial counts per analysis, potentially enhancing pathogen detection.
- The MT3 pooling strategy demonstrated a statistically significant increase in Treponema denticola detection frequency.
Related Concept Videos
RNA-seq
Before the discovery of RNA-seq, microarray-based methods and Sanger sequencing were used for transcriptome analysis. However, while microarray-based...
In-situ Hybridization
Types of probes and labels
A probe is a complementary strand of DNA or RNA that binds to corresponding nucleotide sequences in a cell. Many...
Labeling DNA Probes
Radioisotopes, fluorophores, or small molecule binding partners like biotin or digoxigenin, are the most widely used reporter tags for labeling DNA probes. These labels can be attached to the probe DNA molecule via...
