TM7 is an uncultivated organism which is present in ex- tremely diverse environments. Members of the Dialister genus are difficult to culture as a result of which many of these strains remain uncultivated. It has been suggested that TM7 and Dialister bacteria may belong to a group of suspected periodontal pathogens. In our current study, the presence of the sebacteria in Korean dental plaque samples was asses- sed using PCR detection methods with specific primers for 16S ribosomal RNA genes. The experimental group inclu- ded 84 volunteers (35 males and 49 females). Plaque sam- ples were collected from 4 non-adjacent proximal sites of the molar areas of the mandible in each subject and pooled. TM7 was detectable in 56% and the Dialister genus in 27.5% of the volunteers. Both TM7 and Dialister were present in 20.3% of volunteers. We found that 36.9% of the volunte e rs we re negative for both bacteria. Further s tudi e s to evaluate the prevalence of these putative pathogenic bac- te ria in the Korean population are warranted.

• Yeon-Hee Kim(Department of Oral Microbiology, College of Dentistry, Research Institute of Oral Science, Gangneung-Wonju National University)
• Si-Young Lee(Department of Oral Microbiology, College of Dentistry, Research Institute of Oral Science, Gangneung-Wonju National University) Correspondence