Porphyromonas is a Gram-negative, non-spore-forming, obligately anaerobic and non-motile genus from the family of Porphyromonadaceae. This genus has been found to be part of the salivary microbiome.

Porphyromonas bacteria are microbes that are commensal to our mouths and largely correlate with good dental hygiene.

Although these bacteria are more abundant in children, adults possess a great cross-species diversity of the microbes.

 

Porphyromonas bacteria are microbes that are commensal to our mouths and largely correlate with good dental hygiene.

Some of the diverse species that crop up in adults may become opportunistic pathogens (eg, P. gingivalis - the suspected pathogen behind periodontitis). Porphyromonas also colonizes the noses and mouths of children and and seems to increase in proportion during the Fall and Winter (cold/flu season).

• doi:10.1002/9781118960608.gbm00246

• doi:10.1601/nm.8020

• PMC 4785528