ORCID
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8594-5227
Date of Award
Summer 2026
Embargo Period
7-19-2028
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
College/School/Department
Department of Biological Sciences
Program
Biology
First Advisor
Alex Valm
Committee Members
Paolo Forni, Cheryl Andam, Santiago Peralta
Abstract
The oral cavity contains diverse microbial communities that form highly organized biofilms on tooth surfaces. While the human oral microbiome has been extensively characterized, comparatively little is known about the structural organization of the canine dental plaque microbial community. This work investigated the spatial organization and structural architecture of canine dental plaque using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), confocal microscopy, and 16S rRNA-targeted probes.
Initial sequencing and imaging studies characterized bacterial populations associated with canine periodontal disease and provided additional context for the spatial analyses presented in this work. The primary focus of this work, however, was the structural architecture of canine dental plaque biofilms and the identification of organized multicellular microbial structures.
To investigate plaque architecture, taxon-specific 16S rRNA-targeted oligonucleotide probes were applied to canine dental plaque samples using multiplex FISH and confocal microscopy. These analyses demonstrated that canine dental plaque contains highly organized microbial structures, including corncob-like arrangements, filament-associated consortia, and test-tube brush-like architectures. Comparative analyses revealed that several structures observed in canine plaque were morphologically similar to structures previously described in human dental plaque despite substantial taxonomic differences between canine and human oral microbial communities. In particular, canine corncob structures were primarily composed of Bacteroidetes cells surrounding Firmicutes filaments, whereas analogous structures in humans are typically composed of Streptococcus cells surrounding Corynebacterium filaments. These findings suggest that structurally similar biofilm architectures may emerge across hosts despite differences in microbial composition.
Additional observations demonstrated substantial elongation of Moraxella chains within canine plaque relative to isolate growth conditions, paralleling elongation behaviors previously described for Corynebacterium matruchotii in human plaque. Furthermore, signal-depleted regions were consistently observed within central corncob filaments, including with universal bacterial probes, suggesting localized physiological specialization or altered ribosomal activity within these organized microbial structures.
Together, these findings demonstrate that canine dental plaque is a highly organized microbial community containing complex multicellular architectures. Several structural motifs observed in canine plaque closely resembled architectures previously described in human dental plaque despite substantial differences in microbial composition, suggesting that similar biofilm structures may arise across hosts through common organizational processes. This work provides a detailed spatial characterization of the canine dental plaque microbiome and establishes a framework for investigating the relationship between microbial identity and biofilm architecture in host-associated microbial communities.
License
This work is licensed under the University at Albany Standard Author Agreement.
Recommended Citation
Traver, Nicole, "Spatial Organization and Structural Architecture of the Canine Dental Plaque Microbial Community Revealed by 16S rRNA-Targeted Probes" (2026). Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present). 505.
https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/etd/505